


Hero

by Lorren



Category: Legend Series - Marie Lu
Genre: Adoption, Bullying, Children, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2019-12-07 03:02:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 52,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18229040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lorren/pseuds/Lorren
Summary: Day, now going by Daniel, and his brother Eden return to Los Angeles after ten years away.  At Tess's party, they run into someone Daniel doesn't remember: June.  There just happens to be something June never told Day about in the ten years since they'd been away, but probably should have.Hero is canon with the first three Legend books, with the exception of one little detail in the epilogue of Champion.  It is NOT canon with Life after Legend (I or II) or Rebel.





	1. Ten Years

**Daniel**

Even from the air, Los Angeles looks different than when I left ten years ago.

I haven't been here since I was seventeen, when we went to Antarctica to take advantage of my brother's scholarship to the most prestigious university in the world.  When I left, the city was full of dilapidated buildings: remnants of a country that had been at war for over a generation.

As the plane slowly circles the city in anticipation of landing, I look out the window and realize this is not the same place I left.  A few shiny new buildings have sprung up around the city.  Green spaces are more abundant; probably located in places where some of the worst buildings had been razed.

My neck is sore from sleeping at an odd angle while on the flight, and my stomach is twisting in knots in anticipation of landing.  I don't remember the last couple of years I spent here.  This is home, but there is so much I don't remember.

So much has happened in the ten years since I woke up from a coma in this city.  Most of the years were decent, although some were a little disappointing.  All of them have been filled with the love and support of my baby brother, Eden.  I look over at him watching a movie in the seat next to me.  He's twenty-two.  I have to stop thinking of him that way.

 

My seventeenth birthday was spent in a coma here.  Some birthday, yeah?  A lot better than the way I spent my tenth birthday though.  I spent that one in the morgue after failing my trial.  Fortunately, I managed to escape (because nobody really feels the need to guard dead bodies).  After that I became Day, the notorious warrior of justice for the little people.  The Republic's most wanted criminal.  That I remember.

I woke up from my coma a few months later, in March.  By April, Eden and I left for Antarctica.  Although Los Angeles was the only home I had ever known, he was the only family I had left.  Since he was nearly blind at the time and I didn't have any other ties here other than Tess, I went with him.  For some reason, the Republic decided I was a war hero and decided to pay me a stipend for the rest of my life.  I didn't have to work for money, but I took a job there anyway, because I didn't want to be bored.

 

By my eighteenth birthday, life had become boring.  Routine.

Get up in the morning.  Drop Eden off at the university.  Walk to my job at the school gym.  I supervised the climbing wall, made sure everybody had clean towels, that sort of thing.

"Hey Cliff," I said as I entered the building.  "What's going on?"  Pretty much what I did every day.

"Just another day."  He looked up from his book.  Cliff Roy worked at the front desk.  He was an exercise science major; this job was part of his work study package.  "Happy birthday, by the way."

"Thanks!"  I set down my bag behind the counter.

"There's a girl here waiting for you.  She wants to use the climbing wall."

"Okay."

I head over to the climbing wall.  An attractive blonde girl was leaning against it.  She was dressed in athletic gear, but looked more like she was planning on going on a date than working out.  She beamed when she saw me.

"I see they hire the cute guys at this gym."  She winked at me.

"I doubt that's a requirement to work here," I replied.  "Do you want to climb?"

"That's why I'm here."

I grabbed a harness from the wall.  When I turned around to look at her, I noticed she was staring at my butt.

"Are you a student here?"

"No."  I held out the harness to her.  "My brother is though."

"Is he cute like you are?"  She stepped into the harness, and I tightened it around her sides.

"Yeah, he's pretty cute."  I laughed.  "He's also twelve."

"He must be that Eden guy then," she replied.  I hook the harness to the safety strap.  She puts her hand on my chest.  "Are you a genius too?"

"Not particularly.  We lived in the Republic before I came here.  I failed my trial."  I'm about as far from being a genius as you can get.

"That doesn't matter."  She stepped closer to me, invading my personal space.  "I really don't care about climbing.  I've seen you at the gym before, and I wanted to meet you.  I'm Lexi."

I took a step back.  "Well, it's nice to meet you, Lexi."

Her blue eyes bored into me.  "Are you gay?"

"No.  Why?"

She rolls her eyes.  "I was hoping to get to know you."

"Well, I'm here every day."  I knew she was trying to flirt with me, but I wasn't interested.  I didn't really know why though.

_Why wasn't I interested?_   She was pretty.  When I was living in Los Angeles, I don't think I ever turned down a pretty girl like that, especially if all she wanted was to have a little fun.  Did something change?

I spent all day pondering that as I worked at the gym.  At the end of the day, I picked up Eden from his last class and took him home.  I didn't mention any of this to my brother though.  I didn't want him to think I was cracked.  Even if I was.

 

By my nineteenth birthday, Eden's eyesight continued to improve, and he was doing well in school.  We videoconferenced with Tess on our television after going to a restaurant.

"Hey Tess!" I waved to her through the screen.

Tess looked older than when I last saw her.  She beamed at seeing me.  "How are you doing, Day?  Daniel, I mean."

"I'm doing well."

She waved to Eden.  "You treating your big brother okay, Eden?"

"Of course."  He shoved some hair out of his eyes.  "I made sure he ate, at least today.  I took him to a restaurant."

"What's it like, being nineteen?"

I laughed.  "Pretty much the same as yesterday.  So what are you up to?"

"I work at a hospital now, but you know that already."

I nod.

"I met this great guy named Brian.  He's studying to be a doctor."

"That's great!  You tell him he better be good to you or I'll fly to Los Angeles to take care of him."

"You don't have to worry.  He's really nice."

 "We should visit someday," Eden suggested.  "It's been a long time."

"I hate it that you guys are so far away."  She looks sad.

"Eden has to finish school first," I say.  "They're keeping him pretty busy."

"What about you?"

"I'm sure the gym could do without me, but I can't leave Eden."

We chatted for longer, but I don't remember the rest of the conversation.  It was nice talking to her again.  I was glad she was happy.

 

I know if you ask Eden, he'd tell you I haven't really made much of an effort to meet girls, but in the first few years after I got to Antarctica, I really did try.  I just haven't been interested.  I even spent my twentieth birthday on a date with a girl.  I think her name was Amielle, but I'm not sure.

"Hey," she reached for my hand.  My mind was drifting.  "Did you even hear what I just said?"

I smiled at her.  "I'm sorry.  I was just… thinking."

She looked at me with her dark eyes.  She was so pretty, with long brown hair and olive skin.  I kissed her the other day.  We had been seeing each other for about a month, and I hadn’t kissed her until a couple of days ago.  When I did, it felt wrong.  I don’t know why.

She sighed.  "I know you've been through a lot.  You have a lot of trauma to work through.  Try to let go of that for just one day, okay?  Enjoy your birthday."  I had told her about my involvement in the war, how I was in a coma and had amnesia.  She suspected that was the reason why I was hesitant to be affectionate with her.

"Thank you."

Her eyes seemed sad.

We broke up about a week later.  She had been growing impatient and wanted to break up with me that night, but she didn't want to ruin my birthday.

When I introduced her to Eden a couple weeks before that, he looked at her funny.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe he reminded her of someone he didn't like.

Eden graduated early from the university later that year.  He's so smart.  It seemed like everybody on the planet wanted him to come work for them.  Eden took a well-paying job, and I started working for the Antarctican Intelligence agency.  It paid well.  Not that that mattered.  I had all the money I needed.

 

I went to work on my twenty-first birthday, even though it was a Sunday.  My boss, Lieutenant Schumer, was there as well.

"Go home, Wing."  He was standing in the doorway.

"I have work to do."  I was searching for a criminal who had been stealing people's identities and had been impersonating them on the Multiworlds network.

"Go home.  Those guys will still be there tomorrow."

"You're here." I gather my papers and stack them in the corner of the desk.

"Yeah, but I have a wife that nags me and needy kids.  It's your birthday.  You're young.  Go out and meet a nice girl."

I roll my eyes.  "You sound like my brother."

"Smart kid, him."

"He _is_ a genius."  I swivel in my seat to face my boss.  "He's wrong on this though."

"Are you gay then? Go meet a nice guy."

"No, I'm not gay."  I lean back in my seat.  "I'm just not… interested in that kind of thing any more."

"You're too young to think like that."

"There's nothing wrong with being ace, you know."

"Is that what you are?"

"I guess.  Now, at least.  You know I spent five months in a coma, right?  Had massive amnesia?"

He shook his head.  "No, I didn't know that."

"I used to like girls.  Back before I woke up from my coma.  They liked me too.  Well, they still like me -- I am very attractive, after all."

"And modest, I see."

I wink at him.  "Anyway, ever since I woke up from my coma, I'd see a cute girl, note that she was attractive, but I don’t have any interest.  I don't know why.  I'm okay with that though.  It's no big deal.  Except for people like my brother."

I packed up and left for home.

 

"Surprise!"  People jumped out at me as I flipped on the light.

"Happy birthday, Daniel!" Emily Bott, whom I had worked with at the gym a couple years ago, gave me a hug.  "I haven't seen you in eons!"

I smile at her.  "It's good to see you."

Her eyes sparkled.  "Eden said that you haven't been hanging out with people enough."

I shake my head.  I see people all the time.  At work.  Sometimes in restaurants.  I don’t know what he's talking about.

Eden puts his hand on my back.  I didn't even know he had approached me.  "Happy twenty-second, big bro!"

"Nice seeing you again, Emily," I nodded to her, then turned to my brother.  "What's this all about?"

"We haven't had a party in ages.  No, we haven't _ever_ had a party here.  I thought we should invite some of your friends over for your birthday."

His eyes look large behind his thick glasses.  He'll probably have to wear them for the rest of his life, although his eyesight is much better.  Eden can even read large print books now without assistance.  He looks at me as if he wants my approval.

I'm not really in the mood for a party, but I appreciate his thoughtfulness.

"Thank you, Eden."  I give him a hug.

I look around the room at the people here.  Lieutenant Schumer from work was here, along with several other people from the office.  A few people from the gym were here, including Cliff.  I don't know how Eden found them all.

Seeing all the people made me realize I didn't do much other than go to work and take care of Eden.

I don't know what to think of that.

I wish Tess was here.

I wish… I don't know what I wish.  There's something in my gut that tells me there's something I want, but I don't know what it is.  I don't know what I'm looking for, or how to even begin searching for it.  Whatever this longing is, it's pushed down so deeply in my soul that I don't know how to identify it.  It's screaming to get out.  No amount of birthday parties will repair this emptiness inside me that I don't understand.

 

My twenty-third birthday was spent at home by myself, watching television.  Eden was out on a date (I had a hard time believing that he was old enough).  I watched the news from Los Angeles.  We can watch video from anywhere in the world here in Antarctica.

"Our glorious Elector recently toured the state of California, which has experienced an unprecedented period of economic growth and prosperity," the newscaster's voice announced over video of Elector Anden walking in front of rows of soldiers.  "He recently announced that June Iparis, his girlfriend, will be promoted to commander of all the squadrons in Los Angeles."

The video switches to one of the Elector getting into a military Jeep with a pretty girl about my age.  Of course the Elector's girlfriend would be pretty.  She was holding the hand of a little boy, probably around four or five years old, with light brown hair.  The boy looks a little bit like Eden did when he was that age.

"At only twenty-three years of age, Commander Iparis is an up-and-coming officer in the Republican Army.  She will be the youngest person promoted to that position in the Republic's history."

I snorted.  _She obviously slept her way to that position_.  Republican news is sure full of propaganda and bull-crap.  That kid with her probably isn't even his.  The boy's hair seems too light to be the child of two dark-haired parents.

"In addition to being a talented Commander, Iparis balances her military life with that of a single mother.  Her relationship with the Elector has not been without controversy.  Iparis claims that the father of her son is --"

I turned off the television.  Who cares about some girlfriend of the goddy Elector?  I certainly don't care about some kid she had, probably with some actor or something like that.  Isn't that how celebrities operate?

I went to bed.  I had to get up early for work the next day.

Later that year, I was promoted to director in charge of intelligence for all of Ross City.

 

I glared at Eden when I walked through the door.  It was my twenty-fourth birthday.

He looked up at me from the book he was reading.  It was some engineering tome.  "It went that well?"

I hung my keys on the hook next to the door and sat down next to him on the couch.  "I know you mean well, but don't try to set me up with girls again."

"Julia seemed like your type."

"She was cute.  But," I sighed, "I really don't think I want to do this dating thing."

"What's wrong?  Spending the evening with a cute girl was that bad?"

I ran my hands through my hair.  "No.  It's just…"  I didn't know how to explain it.  Something just seemed wrong about the whole evening.  When I looked at her, I recognized that she was attractive, but I just didn't _feel_ anything.  I felt like I was wasting our time.  "I don't know why you can't just accept that I'm ace and be done with it."

"If I thought you were actually ace, I'd leave you alone."  His eyes were solemn.  "But I don't think you are.  There are things you don't remember."

"Exactly.  I was in a coma for five months.  There's a year of my life that I forgot.  Don't you think it could have affected me?  Maybe that’s why I'm ace?"

He rolled his eyes at me.  "You just think you're ace.  You're not."

"It's not your place to make that diagnosis."

 

On my twenty-fifth birthday, I came home from work, placed my bags on the floor next to the couch and sat, slumping down in the cushions.  I was glad it was Friday.  I enjoyed my job -- if I didn't, there'd be no point in working -- but that week had been especially busy.

"Happy birthday, Daniel."

I looked up at my brother, noticing the food spread out on the kitchen table.  I'm sure he had it delivered, but I couldn't help but smile as I thought about the effort he had put into it.  There were tacos, burritos, refried beans, rice, and corn.  I inhaled, breathing in the scent of the feast.  My stomach began to rumble.

"Thank you for dinner."  I got up and head over to the table.  "You're not going out tonight?"

"Not tonight."  He waved his hand dismissively.  "I'll go out tomorrow.  It's not every day you get to celebrate your brother's twenty-fifth birthday."

"You don't have to do this, you know."

"What, make my brother dinner for his birthday?  Well, I didn't actually make it."  He rolled his eyes.  "You've been doing things for me almost every day.  You're always doing things for me."

"That's what big brothers are for."  I began to load my plate with the delicious-looking food.

He shook his head.  "That's _not_ what big brothers are for.  That's what parents are for.  Big brothers are supposed to live their own lives.  They're supposed to tease their little brothers and make them miserable.  They're not supposed to take care of their younger brothers.  Especially their _adult_ younger brothers."

"I guess I'm a creature of habit."  I dug my fork into the side of my burrito.

Eden looked at me silently for a moment.  "Are you happy?"

I snorted.  "What do you mean?"

"With your life?  Are you happy with your life?  With the direction your life is headed in?"

I shrugged.  "How _is_ life supposed to be anyway, Eden?  You go to work, you come home, you do what you gotta do, yeah?  What else is there?"

"Oh, I don't know.  Maybe meet someone?"  He slammed his fist down on the table.  "You won't even try.  Everybody else is going to move on without you, Daniel.  I can take care of myself now.  _I'm_ going to move on, eventually.  Is this what you want?  Just to exist?"

"What else is there?"  I took a bite of my burrito, savoring the spiciness of it.

"You're better than this, Daniel."  His voice sounded almost angry.

I looked down at my plate.  "Maybe I'm not."

"We should go back to Los Angeles."

I look up at him.  "What?  Why?  You have a good job here.  Friends."

"It's not all about me.  Most of your life has been in Los Angeles."

"And most of _your_ life has been here."  I shook my head.  "What do we have in Los Angeles, anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know, Tess?"  He was biting his lip, as if he wanted to say something else, but wouldn't.  "Most of my life is with you.  I can get a job anywhere."

"We don't have to do this."

"It's not like we'd move tomorrow."  Eden looked at me sorrowfully.  "You _do_ miss Los Angeles, don't you?"

I sighed.  "Yes.  I don't see what that has to do with anything though.  It's not like anything would be different there."

"It doesn't matter.  I think you need to go back.  _I_ need you to go back.  I know that sounds strange, but I think if we go back to Los Angeles, you'll be able to move on with your life.  And you'll be able to let go of me.  Be someone other than my caretaker.  When I don't need anybody to take care of me anymore."

"Fine.  We'll go back."  Sometimes when Eden makes his mind up, it's best not to argue with him.

He smiled at me.  I sensed something in that smile that says there was more to moving back to Los Angeles than he's letting on.  Is there something in Los Angeles that I'm forgetting?  If there is, he hasn't told me.

Neither will Tess.  The day before, I called her to see how things were going, as it had been a while since we last spoke.  She was still seeing Brian.  I teased her about getting married.  I still can't picture her being that old.  Last time I saw her, she was fifteen.

Maybe Eden is right.  Everybody is moving on without me.  I didn't know if moving to Los Angeles would make any difference, but at the same time, I knew nothing would change if I stayed in Antarctica either.

 

Eden stopped me as I walked through the door when I came home from work on my twenty-sixth birthday.  "Where did you go?"

"Work."

"What's wrong with you?" he asked.  "Not only is it Saturday, but it's your birthday."

I sighed.  "It's just another day."  Birthdays weren't important to me anymore.

"Just another day?" He threw his hands up in the air.  "Have you ever stopped to think you might be depressed?"

I shrugged.  "I don't know.  Maybe.  I don't really care."

"You should see somebody.  Get help."

"I don't want to."

He put his hands on his hips.  "And when was the last time you went out on a date?"

"I don't know.  Maybe a year ago?"  I picked up the remote to the television and flip it on, trying to ignore the conversation.  Eden turned it right back off.

"You can't ignore this Daniel.  You need help."

"I'm fine, Eden.  I told you.  I think I'm asexual."

He sat down next to me.  "Daniel, people don't just wake up from a coma and find out their sexual orientation has changed."

"So you're a doctor now?"

"No… but it's common sense.  Maybe if your girlfr--"  He stops.

"Girlfriend?  What girlfriend?" I asked.  "None of the girls I've gone out with here have been that memorable."  I never had a girlfriend before moving to Antarctica.  I always tried to avoid entangling myself in relationships when I was living on the streets.

"The one that visited you every day when you were in a coma."

I stared at him blankly.  "What?"

He looked at me like he said something he shouldn't have.  "Forget it."

"I had a girlfriend that visited me every day when I was in the hospital?"

He shook his head.  "It's not important."

I growled in frustration.  "I had a girlfriend who visited me every day in the hospital for five months and you never even mentioned it to me?  And you tell me it's not important?"

"Just… try to meet other girls, okay?"

"No thanks."  I went into my room and banged the door closed.

 

"Wake up!"  I opened one eye groggily.  On my twenty-seventh birthday, Eden woke me up, standing over me with a huge smile on his face.  He had a small, flat box in his hands.

"Go away!"  I rolled over.  _Just five more minutes of sleep_.  "It's my birthday.  I deserve more sleep."

"No way!"  Eden shook me.  I finally relented and turned towards him.

"What do you want?"

"I want to give your gift to you."

I rolled my eyes.  "And this couldn't wait?"

"Nope."  He shook his head.  "I can't wait any longer to give this to you, at least."

I sat up and held out my hand.  The box was covered with fancy wrapping paper, but it was only held shut by a couple of pieces of tape.  I broke the tape and lifted the lid off the box.

Inside were two plane tickets to Los Angeles.  We'll leave Antarctica on July 10th, to arrive in Los Angeles the next morning.  That's six months away.

Eden was beaming.  "Do you like it?  We're moving back there for good."

I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.  Eden and I had talked about moving for a couple of years now, but we never had taken any steps in that direction.  It felt like I could breathe again.  We're finally going to do it.

"Why July?"

Eden shrugged.  "I don't know.  Tess and I arranged it, and she insisted on that date.  She told me that she's having a party on July 11th, and she wants us to come."  He grinned.  "It's a Thursday, which seems to me like a strange day for a party."

I couldn't help but smile as I looked at the plane tickets.  I didn't realize how much I missed Los Angeles.  I suppose I could have flown back to visit before, but I never did.

That was the best birthday I had in years.

 

Butterflies invade my stomach when I hear the pilot announce that we're getting ready to land.  I look out the window.  Below us, I see the never-ending expanse of the Pacific Ocean, but I know we're close to Los Angeles.  I probably haven't been this giddy since I was about nine years old.

"We're almost there," I whisper to my brother.  He grins back.  He knows how much this day means to me.

I stare out the window as the ocean draws up to the plane.  As the buildings emerge under us.  As the runway appears.

The plane hits the runway hard.  If I hadn't been wearing my seat belt, my head would have smacked against the roof.  My heart pounds as the plane settles on the ground and taxis to the gate.

By the time the airplane parks outside the terminal, my heartbeat has returned to normal.  Even though we had a rough landing, I'm sure everything will be okay now that I'm finally home.


	2. June

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day and Eden go to Tess's house for dinner, only to find out it's June's birthday party. Daniel is stunned when he discovers the revelation waiting for him there.

**Daniel**

After we debark the plane, a concierge from the hotel meets us at the gate to pick up our luggage.  Even though I don't want to go straight to my hotel room, he'll have them in our room when we get there.  Part of me is amazed that I've come so far in my life as to be able to stay in places that even _have_ a concierge; I spent five years of my life living on the streets, and another ten years of my life before that living in poverty with my family.

"Let's take a walk," Eden suggests.

I nod.  After sitting on the plane for fifteen hours, a walk sounds nice.  Besides, I want to see my beloved Los Angeles again.

The setting sun paints a rosy glow on the streets, and the night is temperate.  I breathe in deeply as I inhale the familiar Los Angeles air.  The air in Lake sector, where I used to live, wasn't very appealing a lot of times, especially when the smell of the cows in the farming towers hit me, but Ruby was always another story.  That's where Tess lives now, and where Eden and I hope to find an apartment.  We're walking through Batalla right now, which also used to be nice.

The city looks different from when I last left it.  It feels safer.  Fewer soldiers patrol the streets.  Even the messages on the Jumbotrons look different.  There is less patriotic propaganda and more information on news or upcoming events.  Evidently, there's an up-and-coming rock star named Crescenia performing on Friday at the Disney center that's supposed to be the hottest thing since Lincoln.

Eden brushes some of the curls out of his face.  He starts telling me about a project that he's hoping to get hired to work on here.  I have to laugh at the sight of him, pushing up his sleeves on a shirt that's a little too big for him, his thick glasses, drawing a picture of schematics in the air.  He looks ridiculous.  He confessed to me last week that he was a little nervous about the job interview next week, but I told him not to worry.  He's an engineering genius.

Suddenly, Eden stops.  His face lights up in a grin brighter than anything I've seen in years.  I look ahead to see what he's looking at.

_Wow_.  I swear my heart stops beating for a second.  The girl at the end of the street has got to be the most amazing woman I've ever seen in my life.  I say a silent prayer that I'm not actually asexual like I thought I was, because this girl is simply stunning.

For a split second, her eyes meet mine.  She turns away and hurries off, and the moment is gone.  It is starting to get dark; maybe a pretty girl like that doesn't feel comfortable passing two young men on the streets at night.

"Did you see her?" Eden asks me.  His eyes have lit up like an Antarctican tower during a national holiday.  Maybe he thinks she's hot too.

"Yeah," I say.  I'm probably embarrassing myself by drooling, but I don't care.  "Maybe I'm not ace after all."

"Go talk to her," he says.  "I'll wait."

"I can't."  _What would I say to a girl like that anyway?_   I almost want to kick myself.  I always used to know how to talk to a girl.  After ten years of not being interested, I suddenly feel the need to talk to _this_ girl, and I'm out of practice.

"Okay, I'll make you a deal."  He looks determined.  "You go talk to her, and I'll never ask you to talk to another girl again.  I'll let you pretend to be ace to your heart's content."

"Deal."  I've been getting sick of Eden pestering me about talking to girls, and I would like to meet this one, so it looks like a win-win situation for me.

I rush after her.  She seems to sense my approach and slows so I can catch up to her.  As I draw near to her, she stops and looks at me with an intensity I'm not used to.

She has long brown hair and brown eyes with gold flecks in them.  The kind of girl that I've found attractive for the past ten years, on the rare occasion that I did find a girl attractive.  Somehow, she looks familiar, but if we've met before, I don't know where it would have been.

"Excuse me," I say, "have we met before?"  My throat feels dry, and my heart pounds in my chest.

She studies me for a moment.  "No," she whispers, her voice raw.  "Sorry."

I run my hand through my hair, a nervous gesture that I've had for years.  "Oh," I say.  "I’m sorry to bother you, then.  I just… You look really familiar.  Are you sure we don't know each other from somewhere?"

My head hurts.  Not like the headaches I used to get when I used to live in Lake sector, but with the kind of hurt that you get when you're racking your brain, trying to recall something you just _know you know_ , but can't remember at the moment.  _She_ is in there.  I just know it.

"I _have_ known you," I murmur.  "A long time ago.  I don't know where, but I think I know why."

"Why, then?" she asks.

I try to think for a moment.  I step closer to her.  "I'm sorry.  This is going to sound so strange.  I… I've been searching a long time for something I think I lost."

Her face looks at me kindly.  "It's not strange at all," she replies.  Good, because I'd hate for this girl to think I'm cracked.

I smile at her.  "I felt like I found something when I saw you back there.  Are you sure… do you know me?  Do I know _you_?"

She stands there silently for a moment, as if she was trying to find the words to say but couldn't quite find the right words.  Eventually, I guess, she decides not to say whatever was on her mind.  "I have to go meet up with some friends."

"Oh.  Sorry."  My heart sinks; I really would like to get to know this girl.  I clear my throat.  "I do too, actually.  An old friend down in Ruby."

Her eyes widen.  "Is your friend's name Tess?" she asks.

I smile.  My insides flutter with hope.  "You know her."  I think my heart might actually be singing.

"Yes," she replies.  "I'm having dinner with her tonight."

I study her for a moment.  Suddenly, I have a flash of remembrance, where I'm a little inebriated, and I'm kissing this girl.  I don't remember what happened after that, but I don't think that was the end of our relationship.  "I do remember," I say.

I try searching my mind for more memories.  Nothing pops up, but I know they're in there.  She is why I've always been attracted to girls with brown hair and brown eyes.  She is the reason why I couldn't be happy with anybody in Antarctica.  "It's you," I whisper, awestruck.

"Is it?" she whispers back.  She seems nervous.

I step closer to her.  "I hope… to get to know you again.  If you are open to it.  There is a fog around you that I would like to clear away."

Did we have difficulties before?  Did the stress of whatever I was doing that made me a war hero get to me and cause us to break up?  I don't know.

But then I _do_ know.  I know that once upon a time, I wished that we could meet under different circumstances; circumstances that were unrelated to whatever our troubles were at the time.  I smile at this realization.

"Hi," I say.  "I'm Daniel."  I hold out my hand for her to shake.

"Hi.  I'm June."

 

We arrive at Tess's after going back to the hotel to change our clothes.

"Hello," Tess says after opening the door.  Her face is radiant.  "I'm so glad to see you, cousin!"  She wraps her arms around me and squeezes tightly.  She looks so much older than she did last time I saw her.  Then again, I'm sure I do too.

"Let me introduce you to our other guests."  She gestures to the girl I met earlier.  "This is June."

"We met earlier this evening."  I smile at her.  "Hello again, June."

Tess gestures towards a boy standing next to her.  He has light brown hair and green eyes.  "This is her son, John.  John and June, this is Daniel and Eden."

"Hello, John," I say casually, but part of me feels like cursing.  I finally meet the girl of my dreams, and she's a single mom?  Or maybe she's married, which would be even worse.  "Nice to meet you."

Eden narrows his eyes.  "How old are you, John?" he asks.  If I didn't know any better, I would say that there was some _suspicion_ in Eden's tone.

"I'm ten," he beams.  "My birthday was a few weeks ago."

"I had a brother named John," I say.

"Really?" John says, amazed.  "I was named after my uncle.  He died before I was born, so I never got to meet him."  He looks down at his feet.  "Most of my family died before I was born."  I wonder what that would be like.  Everybody in my family, except Eden, died when I was relatively young, but at least I got to know them.  A lot of people lost their loved ones in the war; I wonder what it would be like to have never met them at all.

Tess directs us to some chairs and couches in her living room.  "Please sit down and make yourselves comfortable," she says.  "It's June's birthday today."

"No kidding," I say, looking at June, raising an eyebrow.  "If I had known this was a birthday party, I would have brought a present."

June laughs.  "That's okay, making some new friends is a present enough."

She sits down in the middle of the couch, next to her son.  I sit on the other side of her.  I lean into her.  "I don't mean to pry, but are you married?  I'm sorry."  I feel awkward.  I'm not sure what to say.  "I don't know if anybody has ever told you this before, but you're very attractive."

June shakes her head.  "No, I'm not married," she says, laughing.  She has such a beautiful laugh.  "And I'm not seeing anybody, either."  Well, at least I know she's single.  I don't know the first thing about dating a single mom though.

"Mom used to date the Elector," John says.  "He was pretty nice.  He bought good presents."

"We broke up over a year ago," June says.  "I realized it just wasn't going to work out."

"It must be hard," I say, "finding the right person when you have a kid."  I don't know the first thing about children.  Well, I did take care of Eden from the time that he was twelve years old, but that's not really the same.  Eden is my brother.  We already had a bond when I had to start caring for him.  John probably would hate me; maybe he'd think I was trying to take his father's place.

June shrugs.  "It's not really a priority of mine."  Oh great.  She's a single mom, and she's not even trying to meet someone.  I feel my chances with this girl dwindling to about zero.

"Dinner's done."  Tess walks into the living room.  She looks at me and smiles.  "Brian has been grilling some steak, and we'll have birthday cake for dessert."

"I'm famished," Eden says, sitting down at the table.  I sit next to him.  June sits on my right, and John sits on her other side.

"So Daniel, Tess told me that you and Eden moved here from Antarctica."  June waves her fork at us.  "What's it like, living there?"

"It's nice," I say noncommittally.  Tess returns to the table, bringing everybody a plate with a steak on it.  "We live in a bubble, so the temperature is nice all year round.  I didn't leave Ross City very often.  It was too cold outside of there.  Antarctica has other cities as well, but I didn't travel a lot.  To be honest, I really missed Los Angeles."  I feel foolish; I hope she doesn't think I'm babbling.

"Well, I'm really happy you decided to come back."  Tess sits at the empty spot at the table.  "I read in the news that you're interviewing for an engineering job, Eden."

Eden nods.  "I hope I get it."

"You will."  I poke my brother in the ribs.  "They practically begged you to come here."

"Are you going to be looking for work too, Daniel?"  Brian slices into his steak.

"Yeah.  I get a stipend from the government, due to my involvement in the war and all, but I don't want to just do nothing.  I was working in Intelligence in Antarctica."

"So are you like, a spy or something?" John's eyes light up.  "That's cool."  He puts some broccoli on his plate.

I dish some mashed potatoes on my plate, then pass them to June.  "I guess you could say that part of my job is like a spy, but it's usually not like what you see in the movies."  I start cutting a piece of my steak.  "A lot of my job is sifting through boring computer files."

"Maybe I could help you find a position with the government," June says.  "I oversee all of the troops in California, including the intelligence office."

"That would be great."  I take a bite of steak.  I close my eyes and savor the amazing flavor.  "Brian, you are a great cook."

"Thank you," he says.  "I'm glad you like the food."

"So," I whisper to June, "do you share custody with John's father?  If the question is too personal, you don't have to answer it.  I don't know too many single parents, so I don't know how that works."

"I never met my dad," John pipes up.  "Mom lost contact with him before I was born, so he doesn't even know about me."

"Wow, that's pretty sad.  Both for you and for your dad."  I take a sip of my soda.

June frowns and shifts in her seat.  I guess she doesn't like talking about John's father.  Maybe it was a bad breakup or he was abusive.

"It's okay," John says cheerfully.  "I know who my dad is.  He's _really_ famous.  Nobody has seen him in years, but everybody knows who he is." John runs his hand through his hair.  "My dad is Day."

I spit my drink out all over the table, slam my glass down, and storm out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. John

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel is angry about what he finds out and has to leave the party. The next day, he meets with June to find out what happened.

**Daniel**

I sit on Tess's couch, rest my elbows on my knees, and cover my face with my hands.  Uncontrolled tears stream down my face, but bubbling below the surface of my feelings, anger about this situation simmers.

I know he's my child.  There have been several people who falsely claimed in one tabloid article or another that I had a child with them, but John is different.  For one thing, he knows Tess.  They didn't just meet this evening, and I'm sure that at one point the subject of his parentage would have come up.  He looks like me.  He has the same nervous gestures that I have.  Plus, didn't I just remember a couple of hours ago that I _had_ kissed June at one point?  She's definitely hot.  Whenever I found a girl attractive in Antarctica, they always resembled her.  Evidently, our relationship went beyond kissing at one point or another.

June follows me into Tess's living room.  She stands there for a moment, watching me.

I turn towards her and narrow my eyes.  "What the hell, June!  Were you ever going to tell me?"  I shout.  "Do you know how _unfair_ that is to him?  To me?"  My chest feels tight and I can hardly breathe.

"I --"

"And you had Tess lie about it too.  Tess and I stayed friends over the last ten years, she obviously knows you, she knows John, and _she_ didn't tell me?  You must have told her not to."

"Don't yell at my mom!" I hear a small voice shouting at me.  John had wandered into the room; his distress was evident on his face.

I get up, cross the room, and embrace my son.  I stand there and cry, with my head on his shoulder.

"Mom, why is this man hugging me?  Why is he crying?"

"I deserve to be yelled at."  Her voice is soft.  "If I were him, I'd yell at me, too."

I hear her sit on the couch.  "He's crying and hugging you because -- that's Day.  He's your father."

I let go of John and turn to June.  "Obviously, there's a lot we have to talk about."  My voice is calm.  I bury my anger below the surface.  For now.  For John's sake.

She nods.

"I don't think tonight, at your birthday party, is the best place to talk though."  My voice is tight.

"I can clear my schedule tomorrow afternoon.  I'll see if Tess can watch John."  She won't look in my eyes.

"That would probably be a good idea.  I'll meet you back here tomorrow at… one?"

"Fine."

I return to the dining room.  Tess and Brian are looking at me with wide eyes.  Maybe they think I'm going to flip out further.

"I'm sorry for making a scene."  I put my hands in my pockets.  "I need to go.  Sorry.  I have a lot to think about."

Tess nods.

"Do you think you could watch John tomorrow afternoon?  I need to talk to June, and now wouldn't be a good time."

"That's fine.  I have the late shift tomorrow."  Tess's voice is quiet.  Unfortunately, John's revelation seems to have knocked all the fun out of this party.

Eden looks at Tess.  "Mind if I come too?  I'd like to get to know my nephew some."

Tess shrugs.  "You're always welcome here, Eden."

I don't look at June or John as I leave Tess's apartment.  As soon as I get into the hallway, I lean against the wall and breathe deeply for a moment, trying to destress.

My life will never be the same again.

 

The next day, Eden and I arrive at Tess's house at one exactly.  My hands feel sweaty and my pulse is racing; I have no idea what John is like, or June, yet our lives are now inextricably linked.  Now that I know he exists, I can't pretend that last night never happened, no matter how I feel about it.  I don't know what to feel about it.

June and John are already there.  "Let's go to my apartment," she says.  "It's not very far."

Twenty-four hours ago, had _this_ particular girl told me that she wanted me to go to her apartment, I probably would have made a flirtatious comment.  I probably would be making plans to get a kiss out of her, at the very least.  Now, that seems highly inappropriate.  Although… I might try to get a kiss out of her anyway.  She _is_ hot.

I nod, and we walk to her apartment in silence.  The sun is bright and warms my skin.  Puffy white clouds sail across the sky; the vision reminds me of how much I love Los Angeles and missed it when I spent my days under Ross City's artificial dome.   The cheerful weather does nothing to calm the flip-flopping going on inside my stomach right now.

When we get to her place, we sit at her dining room table.  Her apartment is more spacious than Tess's.  Soft gray carpet covers the living room, which contains a couch, love seat, and a flat screen television.  The kitchen is cheery, with light blue and white tile on the floor.  A beam of light streams in through the window, illuminating a patch of the hardwood floor beneath me.

"So…" I say.  "What happened?"

June looks stressed.  "It's a _really_ long story.  There was a reason I never contacted you about him."

I wait.

"About twelve years ago, my brother died.  He was stabbed."

"I'm sorry to hear that."  I look down at my hands, which are resting on the table.  I don't know how that has anything to do with me.

"Your fingerprints were on the weapon."

My eyebrows raise as I look up at her.  I've done a lot of things before.  I've even done a lot of illegal things, but murder is not something I've ever been inclined to do.  It also doesn't make sense.  Why would someone have a child with their brother's murderer?

She must sense my confusion.  "You're not a murderer.  But I thought you were, at first.  It was your knife.  Your brother Eden was sick, and you broke into the hospital in an attempt to steal some plague medicine for him.  When you escaped, you threw your knife at my brother, Metias.  You hit him in the shoulder, probably to disarm him.  Somebody else later used your knife to stab him in the heart, but we wouldn't find that out until... until more damage was done.

"I was sent on a mission to track you down.  I found you after a while, but I didn't discover who you were until after you kissed me."  For a moment, she smiles, but her smile quickly fades.

"At that point, still thinking you had murdered my brother, we make a move to take you into custody."  Her expression turns sad.  "I didn't want anybody to get hurt, but while we were trying to capture you, the same man that murdered my brother… also shot your mother."

The vision of my mother being shot is one of the few things I remember from that time period.  That, and seeing my brother get shot, wearing a blindfold on his head.  Both are disjointed memories without any context attached to them.

"I'm sorry."  She has trouble meeting my gaze.

I put my hand on her shoulder.  "We both lost people.  It's okay.  Go on."  There's no use dwelling on the past.

"When you were in prison, you admitted to a lot of crimes.  Mostly tampering with the Republic's equipment, stealing stuff, that sort of thing.  You were completely against the old Elector, and probably for good reasons.  You told me that the Republic tried to kill you after you failed your trial, and I didn't believe you.  At first.  After I investigated things, I discovered that you were telling me the truth."

"I also learned that you didn't fail your trial.  They _told_ you that you failed, but you had a perfect score, just like I did."

I don't believe her.  My whole life, I had always seen myself as the stupid one in my family, as I couldn't pass the trial.  I knew there had been one girl that had gotten a perfect score, but I would never have imagined that my score was perfect too.

"Once I learned these things, that so many things I was taught about the Republic had been lies, I decided to rescue you from the prison.  They had sentenced you to be executed.  Unfortunately, things didn't go quite as planned.  I tried to rescue both you and your brother, but when things fell apart, your brother took your place.  It all happened so fast, there was no time to argue."

"So, what does that have to do with John?"

"I'm getting there.  All of that is relevant, however."  She looks down at my right hand, with the paperclip ring that I was wearing when I came out of my coma.  "I'm surprised you're still wearing that."

"What?  This ring?  I have no goddy clue how I got it.  I think that's why I still wear it.  Maybe because I hope to find out someday."

"I made it for you."  She reaches out to my hand, stroking the ring softly.

"Really?"  I smile.

"Yeah.  To continue our story, we both got involved with the Patriots, and we both discovered we were totally into each other.  You had a brain tumor or something, caused by some of the experiments that the Republic did on you after they told you that you failed your trial.  You were dying, but you didn't tell me.  Instead of telling me what was going on with your health, you broke up with me.  You hoped to spare me the trauma of having to deal with watching you die.  Then you moved to San Francisco.

"I started training to be a Princeps, but eventually discovered I hated politics.  After a while, the Republic wanted me to lure you back to Denver, which was where we were at the time, to try to convince you to allow the Republic to take Eden's blood to try to develop a cure for the plague that was spreading into the colonies.  You weren't having it.  You were very protective of your brother."

I think about our years together in Antarctica and chuckle.  "I guess I still am."

"Anyway, you and I… we loved each other, but every time you looked at me, I could see the pain in your eyes.  I always reminded you of your brother and your mother, and how they died.  The night John was conceived, you came to my apartment and begged me to tell me that you didn't love me.  You begged me to let you go.  I couldn't.  Because I did love you then."

As she looks at me, I can see pain in her eyes.  "I probably still love you now."

My heart skips a beat.  Last night, I was trying to get this beautiful stranger to like me, and now she's confessing that she thinks she might love me?  I don't know what to think, but whatever I'm feeling, it's mostly good.

"That night was the first and the last night we spent together like that.  You woke up in the middle of the night after having a nightmare.  You thought I was still asleep, but you had woken me up.  When you got up to leave, I followed you.  You went to your old home, sat in your old living room, and cried."  June's eyes were wet with tears.  "I was so heartbroken for you.  I knew that as long as we were together, you would never be happy, because I would always remind you of your loss.  You were almost killed and went into a coma a couple days later.

"You spent five months in a coma.  I visited you every day.  I saw Eden and Tess every day.  It didn't take Tess too long to figure out I was pregnant, but I hid it from Eden.  He was twelve; he didn't need to know.  When you woke up from your coma and didn't recognize me, I felt like the kindest thing to do would be to let you go."

She takes my hand.  "I probably should have gotten back in touch with you sooner.  I didn't think it was my right to reach out to you though, to try to start a relationship with you again.  That was probably a stupid idea.  Even though I didn't have a right to a relationship with you, John has a right to know you.  You have a right to know him too."

Her beautiful brown eyes look so remorseful.  "Well," I say, "I hope we can all get to know each other.  I don't remember you, not really, but I think I've spent the last ten years trying to find you without really realizing it.  Besides, whether or not we find out that we have something together again, we have to think about John.  It's not his fault any of this happened."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this story so far. Comments are always appreciated!


	4. Dad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John talks to Eden while his parents talk. Later, John has dinner with both of his parents for the first time and they get to know each other.

**John**

Daniel -- Dad -- and Eden arrive at Tess's apartment right as I finish lunch.  Tess had made me a ham and turkey sandwich.  She's always been like an aunt to me.  Mom told me a few years ago that Tess and Brian can't have kids of their own, so maybe that's why they're always so nice to me.  It's strange to think I have a real uncle now that I didn't know anything about before.

They say hi to Tess, then Mom suggests to Dad "Let's go to my apartment.  It's not very far."  I guess if they're going to yell at each other, they'd prefer not to do it around me.

That's what I assume they're gonna do.  Some of my friends with divorced parents say that all their parents do when they get together is fight.  My dad was certainly yelling at Mom last night.  Of course, my parents never got married, so they never got divorced, but is there a difference between their situations?

Only, my mom has never said anything bad about Day.  It's almost as if he's a superhero or something.  My whole life, she's told me about how amazing he was.  I've thought about trying to find him before, but I didn't know how to go about it.  Once, I did an internet search on him, but all I could find were historical articles about what he did during the war.  It was like he dropped off the face of the planet.

I didn't know he was still friends with Tess, or I probably would have asked her.

After they leave, I put my plate away and go sit on the couch.

"Hey," Eden says, sitting down next to me.  Tess excuses herself, I guess so we can talk.

"I guess you're my uncle."

"Yeah."  Eden looks at his hands.  "Don't get mad at your dad or anything because he's never been there for you.  Neither of us knew you existed."

"I'm not mad."  This conversation is a little uncomfortable though.  "Mom's always had nice things to say about him.  I don't know why she never told him about me though.  It's not like she couldn't have contacted him through Tess or anything."

Eden shrugs.  "I guess you'd have to ask her."

"One thing confuses me.  Last night, Dad acted like yesterday was the first time he had ever met my mom.  Yet when I said that Day was my dad, he didn't question that it was true.  There's lots of people that claim that they had children with my dad.  How did he know that I was telling the truth?"

Eden looks at me.  "Have you looked in a mirror lately?  You look like him.  I knew that you were my nephew as soon as Tess introduced you as June's son.  Anybody with eyes that remembers June and Day from back then would know who you are.  Even Anden.  I bet that bothered him."

"What bothered him?"

"That June had a child with Day, and you so obviously look like him."

"I don't know; I just know he was nice.  Very gentlemanly."  I think for a moment.  "Dad has eyes.  He didn't know who I was."

"Yes, but he doesn't remember anything from back then.  The only thing he remembers from the age of fifteen and a half to the time he woke up from his coma is watching his mom and brother get killed.  He had amnesia."

"Mom told me he almost died."

"He almost died a few times.  I talked to your mom a lot when Daniel was in a coma.  She told me about a lot about what happened."  He looks at me intently for a moment.  "I can't believe I never figured it out though, in the hospital.  Judging from your birth date, it looks like you were… uhh… created… "

"I know all about sex, Eden," I roll my eyes.  "It's not like they don’t teach about it in school.  Besides, my mom had to explain to me why I had never even met my dad and how he didn't know about me."  I make a face.  "I'm not sure why my mom and dad would have wanted to do _that_ , though."

Eden laughs.  "That's good, because you probably shouldn't be doing that for a long time anyway.  Your parents probably shouldn't have been doing what they were doing at that age either, but I guess if a person goes through all of the crap that they did, it causes you to grow up faster than you should.  Anyway, your parents would have had to have conceived you right before Daniel went into a coma.  By the time he woke up, your mom would have been about six months pregnant.  I don't know why I never figured it out.  Maybe because I was twelve.  She was wearing a lot of baggy clothes right before Daniel woke up though.  I thought maybe she was just getting fat because she was depressed."

"What's my dad like?  Does he yell a lot?"  I remember him yelling yesterday.

Eden shrugs.  "Not really.  He was just surprised last night.  After we went back to the hotel, he told me that he doesn't know how to be a dad.  That's not really true though.  He took care of me after my mom died.  We had a caretaker named Lucy -- partly because he was dying -- but after we moved to Antarctica he took care of me all by himself.  Daniel was always making sure that nobody was trying to hurt me.  Once he told me that if anybody tried to hurt me or take me away, I needed to call June Iparis -- your mom."

I look down at my feet.  "I hope he likes me.  Most of my friends with divorced parents have to spend part of the time living with their mom, and part of the time living with their dad.  I guess that's how it's going to be with me now."

"I don't think you need to worry.  I'm sure Daniel will like you.  Besides, your parents aren't divorced.  I don't think your dad ever stopped loving your mom, even though he didn't remember her.  When we lived in Antarctica, I tried to get him to go out with girls.  Most of the time he told me that he thought that sometime between getting amnesia and waking up from the coma, he stopped liking girls.  On the rare times when he did go out with someone, he would always go out with someone that looked suspiciously like your mom.  I think he was subconsciously trying to find her."

"I think my mom still likes him too."  I run my fingers through my hair.

When Mom and Dad get back to Tess's, my mom looks happier than I've ever seen her in my life.  Dad is all smiles too.  They must have not yelled at each other too much.  When Dad leaves with Eden, he tells Mom "see you tonight."  I don’t know if Dad is coming over for dinner or if he will be coming by for something else.  I guess I'll find out.

 

Our doorbell rings and Mom answers.  It's Day -- Dad.  He's carrying flowers and a box.

"Since it was your birthday yesterday, I decided to get you a birthday present," he says, giving Mom the box.

She opens it.  "I can't take this," she says, shaking her head.  "I can tell it was too expensive."  She holds the box out to him, attempting to give it back.

He shakes his head, pushing the box back to her.  "I insist you have it.  If you think of it as a birthday present combined with ten years of Mother's Day presents, it's really a pittance.   Besides, with the child support payments I've missed over the last ten years, I should probably buy you a house."

"They are very pretty," she says.  I'm not sure what's in the box, but I suspect it's some sort of jewelry.  "They'll match the necklace you gave me a long time ago."

He whispers something into her ear that I can't hear.

"You would like that, wouldn't you!" she says, hitting him playfully in the arm.  I'm not sure what he said to her, but she's pretending to be upset with him.  I know she's not though.

Mom puts the flowers in a vase, then puts the vase on our coffee table.  She directs us to the dining room.  "I didn't make anything fancy," she says, "just spaghetti."

"That sounds good," he says, sitting down at the table.  "You know I’m not picky when it comes to food."

"Uh, yeah, I remember."  She frowns.  I'm not sure why not being picky about food would make her upset.  She always tells me to eat whatever she puts on my plate.

We eat quietly for a few minutes.  "I feel like I’m at a disadvantage," my dad says.  "You two know each other really well, but I don't know either of you.  I was thinking that maybe we could answer some questions to get to know each other better."

I roll my eyes.  I wonder if this is some silly dad thing he put together.  My mom seems to think that it's a good idea though.

He takes a stack of cards out of his pocket and reads the top one.  "Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?" he asks.

My mom thinks for a moment.  "The Colonies," she says.  "All of those ads everywhere.  People even wore ads on their clothes.  It was really creepy."

"That does sound really strange."

"You were there.  I got the plague and they took me to a hospital.  Then they were going to arrest me and you helped me escape."

My dad listens with interest and a blank look.  He obviously doesn't remember.

"So how about you, John?" he asks.

How can I top the Colonies?  I can't.  "I haven't been anywhere as interesting as the Colonies."

"Who said it had to be _as_ interesting?" my dad says.

"There's a park the other day that I went to that had this really cool climbing wall on it."  I look at my spaghetti, a little embarrassed at my dull life.  "There was this girl there, and she gave me a kiss on the cheek because she was so impressed that I could climb it so fast."

My dad looks like he's about to burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?  I know it's probably not half as exciting as the places you've been."

He shakes his head.  "I'm sorry, I wasn't laughing at that.  I just found it amusing that you are so much like I was at your age."

My mom nods.  "I didn't know him then, but I could totally see a ten-year-old Day climbing a wall and getting a girl to kiss him."

"I think Ross City was probably the most interesting place I've been," I say.  Everything is gamified.  You earn points for doing good things, and lose points for doing bad things."

"Who decides what's good and what's bad?" I ask.

"That's a good question," my dad says.  "I've asked that myself, more than once."  He takes a bite of spaghetti and looks at the next card in the deck.  "How different was your life one year ago?"  He laughs.  "Well, that one's easy.  Just a week ago I was living in Ross City.  I didn't know that I had ever had a kid, or had at one point met the love of my life… but here I am today."  _The love of his life?_ Is that who Mom is to him?

"I was in Mrs. Moon's class," I say, frowning.  "Well, not exactly a year ago, because a year ago it was summer, but last fall.  Mrs. Moon was nice, but some of the kids were mean to me.  One day, we were talking about our parents, and when I said that my dad was Day, they laughed at me.  They said my mom just made that up because she was a whore and didn't know who my real dad was.  They teased me about it all year.  I guess they won't be able to tease me about it now."

I look down and pick at my spaghetti with my fork.

Both my mom and my dad frown.  I never told my mom about that.  I didn't want her to worry.

"Well, if they ever have one of those 'bring your parent to school' days, you'll have to make sure to invite me," my dad says.  "I'd love to see the look on their faces."  He flashes me a wicked grin.

"If you're still here," I say glumly.  Maybe he'll go back to Antarctica or something.

"I was planning on going back to Los Angeles long before I knew you existed," he says.  "Now I have two more reasons to stay."

"Hmmm… a year ago, I guess I felt… lost," my mom says.  "I had broken up with Anden, because I knew that it wasn't going to work out.  "I guess I know why now."

"Well, that was a fairly morose topic," my dad says, getting another card out.  "What amazing thing did you do that no one was around to see?" the corners of his mouth upturn in a smile.  "That one's easy.  Robbing a bank in ten seconds."

I think my jaw drops.  I'm not sure what to think about my dad being a bank robber.

He looks at me.  "Don't get any ideas about robbing banks though.  If someone ever tries to experiment on you and leave you for dead at age ten, and then you have to go live on the streets for years, then you can rob a bank, but not unless that happens, okay?  And then you have to share the money you get with other street people."

I nod.  I don't think that someone is going to experiment on me and leave me for dead this year.  What kind of messed up life did my dad have?  Mom always said he had a hard life.

"I killed Commander Jameson," my mom says.

These are more interesting than I thought they would be.  _My mom killed someone?_   What kind of people are my parents?

"Well, I didn't really kill her with my bare hands," she continues.  "She shot Day, and I was trying to get her to stop, so I fought her.  We were on a roof, and she came at me, and I grabbed her arm, and she went flying over the roof.  She held onto my arm though, and wouldn't let go, so I yelled down to some soldiers on the streets and told them to shoot her.  So they did."

"I never killed anybody or rob a bank," I say.

"That's a good thing," my mom laughs.

"I climbed up on our school's roof the other day," I say.  "Well, it was a few months ago."  I look at my parents.  "Don't get mad at me, please."

My mom laughs.  "I think we've both climbed up our fair share of buildings."

Dad continues to ask questions while we finish our meal.  I think the cards were a good choice.  I'm surprised about the things I didn't know about my mom, let alone my dad.

We sit on the couch after dinner.  My mom excuses herself to go use the bathroom.

My dad runs his fingers through his hair.  "I have no goddy clue how to be a dad," he says.  "So I'm sorry in advance if I mess everything up.  Most people get their kids when they're babies, and I show up one day and, here you are.  I don't know you or your mom."  He smiles at me.  "I mean, she's hot and all, and seems nice enough -- see, I probably shouldn't do that -- tell you that I think your mom is hot and everything."

My mom comes back.  "Dad thinks you're hot," I tell her.  His face turns pink.

She smiles.  "Well, can you keep one of my secrets better than you can keep your dad's secrets?"  I nod.  "I think he's hot too."  She wasn't really making any attempt to say it quietly enough so he wouldn't hear, however.

I laugh.

 

We play a board game, then it's time for me to go to bed.  I put on my pajamas and brush my teeth, and Mom covers me up with my favorite blanket.  I try to sleep, but after a while, I realize I'm thirsty, so I get up to get a drink of water.

Dad and Mom are standing by the door.  They're kissing, but they don't notice me.  I've seen Mom kiss Anden before, but this is completely different.  My parents look like people kissing in the movies.

"Hmmm… now I know how we ended up with a child," I hear my dad say quietly. "If we're not careful, we'll end up with another one."  He starts kissing my mom again.

"I forgot what this was like," my mom murmurs after a moment.

"Now I know why I couldn't be happy with anybody in Antarctica," my dad says.  "I never want to kiss anybody else again."

"You've always been a smooth talker."

"Only because with you, every word is true."

I feel guilty, like I'm not supposed to be watching this.  I finish making my way to the kitchen and grab a glass of water.  When I head back to my bedroom, my dad is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for reading! Comments are always appreciated.


	5. Where Babies Come From

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> June is confronted by John's day care workers.

**June**

I smile as I close the door behind Daniel.  I feel almost like a teenager again, except this evening, Metias's death is not a fresh wound.

John is standing in the kitchen, holding a glass of water, frowning.

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

"Mom, I'm concerned," he says.  "I'm not sure Dad knows where babies come from.  After all, he had amnesia; maybe he forgot.  You might want to tell him, so he doesn't worry."  I feel my cheeks start to turn pink.  "But be prepared, he might get a little embarrassed."

I raise my eyebrows.  "Oh, trust me, he knows."  _He definitely knows._   "What makes you think that he doesn't?"

He looks at the door, then down on the ground.

I walk towards my son.  "You saw us kissing."

"Yeah.  He said that if you're not careful, you'll end up with another kid."

I put my arm around him and ruffle his hair.  "He didn't say that because he thought kissing me might get me pregnant," I say.  "And you probably shouldn't listen to adult conversations.  You might hear something you don't want to hear."  _Especially if you think your dad might be embarrassed about hearing where babies come from._   "I _especially_ don't want you listening if we're in another room talking, okay?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Now, take your water and go back to bed."  I push him in the direction of his bedroom.

 

Work was uneventful on Monday.  My mind kept wandering back to Daniel.  He's supposedly looking for an apartment today with his brother; Daniel said they were going to try to find a place close to mine so it would be easier for John to visit whenever he wanted.  We're supposed to help them move on Saturday.

As I walk into John's day care that evening, the front desk people greet me.  "Good evening, Ms. Iparis," Wendy, the manager, says.  She looks over her wire-rimmed glasses at me with an air of superiority.  "John's teacher would like to meet you in the office."

I stand in the doorway when I arrive.  John's teacher, Nikki, is doing some paperwork.  "Ms. Iparis."  She looks up from her desk.  She reminds me a little of Ms. Whitaker, the dean secretary at Drake, where I went to college.  "I figured that you'd be here soon."  Unless there's an emergency, my schedule is predictable.  "Come in.  Have a seat."

I sit down in the chair opposite her desk.  "Is John in trouble?"  So far, John has been a good kid.  He doesn't seem to have the same rebellious streak that I did when I was his age.  Or I'm assuming Day must have had.

"Not exactly, but I am a little concerned."  She tilts her head to the side.  "I’m afraid that your son is a little… confused… and I'm hoping you'd be able to talk to him and help him clear things up."

"What is he confused about?"

"Children like to pretend.  It's a perfectly normal and healthy thing for them to do.  Sometimes children from… fatherless homes… like to make up stories about who their father is.  Some might pretend their dad is Superman, or Batman, or maybe a rich businessman who is gone all the time.  It's only when they start to actually believe their pretend play that it becomes a problem."

I think I know where her line of thinking is going, and I don't like it.  My jaw tenses as I cross my arms.

"I know you're a very high ranking military official, and I'm sure it affects who John sees as his heroes.  Since John joined this class last year, he has been pretending that Day is his father.  Which is a perfectly fine thing to pretend, but today John told his classmates that his dad stopped by this weekend and had dinner with him."

This lady's an idiot.  I feel like messing with her.

"So before you decided to waste my time this evening, did you even bother to look at John's records?"

She purses her lips.  "Yes, ma'am, I'm familiar with his file.  His father is listed as Daniel Wing."

"And did it ever occur to you to conduct an internet search to find out who Daniel Wing was?"

"Why would I need to do that?"  She has the nerve to look at me like I’m a stupid child.

"Do you think that Day's parents gave him that name when he was born?  That the Republic's most wanted criminal would go by his own name to commit his crimes?  You just acknowledged that I'm a high-ranking military official.  Did it ever occur to you that a high-ranking military official might decide to have a fling at some point with a military hero?  Or is that harder to believe than the tooth fairy is real?"  I pound my fist on her desk, then let out a breath.  I didn't mean to get angry.

Nikki is gaping at me.  I continue.  "Or maybe Day is like one of those plastic dolls that children play with, that lack male genitalia?  Maybe it stopped working during the war?"  I smile sarcastically.  "I can assure you, Nikki, that Day has a perfectly functioning set of plumbing down there, or at least did ten years ago, and that Day, Daniel Wing, and John's father are all the same person.  And John is well-aware of who his father is, and has been since he was young enough to understand what happened."

"I… umm…"

"Oh, and since we're already here, you might as well add Daniel Wing to the list of people that are authorized to pick up John.  Mr. Wing moved back to the Republic last week, and he's eager to spend time with his son.  And while you're at it, you can go ahead and add his brother Eden to the list as well.  Maybe I can get Eden to watch his nephew one day so I can… verify that Daniel's plumbing is still in working order."

I added that last part just to mess with Nikki even more, not that I have any intention of checking out that part of his anatomy any time soon.  I'm getting a little sick of people questioning John's origins.  Maybe I'm a little more livid than I otherwise would be because of what John revealed to me on Friday: how he's been bullied by kids because he rightly claims that Day is his father.

Sometimes John is a little too much like his dad.  He relies too much on himself to deal with his problems, rather than turning to people that can support him.  When Day was dying of a brain tumor, he decided to break up with me and move to San Francisco rather than tell me what was going on and allow me to care for him.  I wish John would have told me what he'd been going through at school.  There's no reason he should have had to face this by himself.

I walk out of the room to go pick up my son, who's sitting at a table reading a book.  When he sees me, his face falls.  My rage must be showing on my face.

"Mom, am I in trouble?  Miss Nikki wasn't very happy with me today."

"No, you're fine," I say.  I kneel to embrace him.  "I’m just a little upset at your teachers right now.  But you're okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken me so long to get this most recent chapter out! I hope you enjoy this one. Comments are always welcome. Thanks for reading!


	6. Die Young

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day and Eden move into their new apartment.

**Daniel**

Tess and Brian are already at our new place when June arrives with John.  We found a two-bedroom apartment in the same building as June; this way my son can visit all the time and we don't have to worry about any special custody arrangements.

"Make yourselves at home," I say as they enter.  "John, you can watch television if you want, or use my laptop to play games.  Go ahead and spend up to 1000 notes from my account to buy a game or two."

June shakes her head as John sits down next to the computer.  "That’s too much.  John, you can buy a game, but I don't want you taking advantage of Daniel's generosity.  Don't spend that much."

My mouth twists.  I grab her by the arm.  "We need to talk."  I walk her to my bedroom and sit on my bed, which the postman delivered earlier that week.

She looks at the bed.  "Daniel, I don't think now is the appropriate time --"

"To talk?"  I raise my eyebrows.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I --"

She sits down next to me.  "I don't care if you tell John that he can't spend 1000 notes on games today," I say.  "That's fine.  I just don't see how my spending money on my son would be 'taking advantage of my generosity.'  It's not generosity, it's taking care of him."

"I guess I’m just not used to anybody else having any responsibility for him."

"Where does John go during the day when you're at work during the summer?"

"Day care."

"Well, I want to pay for half of that.  And half of whatever his other expenses are, okay?"

"You don't have to --"

"Maybe I don’t have to, but I want to.  I’d like to be a part of his life.  I'm not hurting for money, and I have a job interview in a few days."

She nods.

I give her a confused look.  "Is there any particular reason why you assumed I was taking you in here to do something other than talk?  For all intents and purposes, as far as my conscious memory is concerned, I met you a little over a week ago."

"I don't know.  It's easy to forget that you don't really know me well, when the time we spent together is burned in my mind like it was yesterday.  When you kissed me last week, it didn't feel like you didn't remember me or we had spent years apart."

"Well, my subconscious remembers you, I know that.  But I need to --"

I sigh, thinking about when I lived on the streets as a teenager.  "I have to admit, I was with a couple other girls before you."

She raises her eyebrows at me.  "Okay, a few.  Maybe a little more than a few.  Not too many, really.  Although, I’m a little ashamed that I lost track of the number of girls that I kissed years ago."  I sigh.  "June, I never thought I'd live very long.  Or that I'd ever meet anybody like you.  I never thought I'd need to be the kind of person that would attract a someone like you."

"Daniel, I --"

"Once, when I was thirteen," I say.  "I ran into this illegal bar in Winter.  Yeah, I know that thirteen-year-olds shouldn't be in bars, but that was my life.  I suppose you can imagine the place, even though you’ve probably never been anywhere like it before.  They had illegal skiz fights, bootlegged alcohol, illegal music, that sort of thing."

"Illegal music?"

"Yeah, you didn't think everybody always wanted to listen to that goddy patriotic stuff, did you?"  I roll my eyes.  "The Republic had most of its creativity snuffed out of it decades ago.  There are a few places I went to in Antarctica that have been developing new types of music, but there are still a lot of music styles that have been repressed for decades because the government believed it was subversive."

I take her hand.  "So I was at this illegal bar once, and this ancient song comes on.  Well, I think all the songs playing there were ancient, back from when the United States of America existed.  Anyway, the song was basically about 'let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young'.  That song resonated with me, because I never expected to even live to twenty.  It's probably hard for you to imagine, living to find food, have a little fun, causing trouble, expecting to die any day.  At thirteen.  So the things I did before I met you reflect that.  That was how I lived."

I’m not sure why I’m telling her this.  "The girls I was with before you, the girls I kissed, they meant nothing to me.  If they were pretty, and they were offering, why would I turn them down?  I was gonna die anyway.  Every day was a gift and could have been my last."

"It didn't matter whether I knew a girl well.  It's not like she would ever be important to me.  I avoided entanglements on the streets because they could only lead to trouble."

She smiles at me as I brush a lock of hair behind her ear.  "I care about you, June.  Not just because of John.  Even though I don't know you very well yet, I can tell you're special.  I -- I don't think we need to rush into anything.  We've both probably changed in the last ten years; I’d like us to get to know each other better.  I'm not going to die young.  Somehow, I lived.  Don’t ask me how."

I kiss her on the cheek.  Chances are, I'll get a nice goodbye kiss later on in the evening, but now we need to get to work.  "Thanks for listening."

She squeezes my hand.  "I care about you too.  I can't imagine what it would’ve been like to be thirteen or fourteen, thinking you could die any day, and I know firsthand how many times you came close to death when you were fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen."  She smiles.  "Come on, let's get back to work before they wonder why we're taking so much time in here."

We leave the room and Brian shoots a glance at us.  "Talking?"

"Yes, talking," I glare at him.  I grab a box of dishes and start to unwrap them, placing them in our cupboards.

"I can see," he replies.  "You don't look happy enough to have been doing something other than talking."

June sits down next to John.  "What are you playing?" she asks.

"Battlefield 2133.  It's about the Colonian War.  Did you know you can play Dad in this game?"

I hear her laugh as she looks at the screen.  "At this point in the war, he had definitely washed the blood out of his hair."

"That's what that was?  The scarlet streak?"

"Yes."  She sighs, but I'm not sure why.

We unpack everything that day.  We left all of our furniture in Antarctica — it was too expensive to ship — so all we had were clothes and household items to unpack.  After we finish unpacking, we play a card game in our dining area while John watches a movie.

After our friends go home, June says it's time for them to go home too.  I wrap my arms around her waist.  "I can't let you leave yet."

"You can't?"

"Nope."  I pull her closer and brush my lips against her neck.  "I think I'm falling for you… again."  My lips move to her cheek.

"I'm glad."  She hugs my neck.  "I think I'm feeling the same way."

My lips gently touch hers.  She kisses me back.  When I kissed her last week, it was like going back to a place in my mind that I forgot existed.  I pull her closer, so she's pressed up against me, and kiss her more deeply.  Even though I have to let her go, I don't want to.  I can't breathe.  I can't think.  All I want is her.

Eventually, I pull away.  "This isn’t gonna be easy," I whisper.

"No, it won’t."

I look at my son, who has stopped watching the movie.  He's watching us.

Maybe we should take him on all our dates, for now.  It's probably a good thing I'm falling in love with June.  We’re already linked forever, by this miniature version of me — and her—if I love her, and she loves me, then that's just better for all of us.

"Have you ever been to an amusement park?" she asks.

I shake my head.

"Well, you're going to one tomorrow."  She saw John watching us as well.  "With me and John."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out.


	7. The Magic Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day, June, and John go to an amusement park.

**John**

Dad knocks on our door at about nine the next morning.  He's wearing shorts and a t-shirt.  I don't think I've ever seen him dressed so casually before.  His left knee, and part of his leg around it, looks funny. 

"Why does your knee look like that?" I ask.

Daniel furrows his eyebrows.  "It's an artificial knee," he says.  "The Republic experimented on my knee when I was a kid and messed it up badly.  It was bleeding for months afterwards.  Eventually, it mostly healed, and I just limped on it a little.  But when I woke up from my coma, I had this artificial knee, and it's been good as new ever since.  I don't know how I got it."

"Oh, I know how you got it," my mom says.  "The Patriots got it for you."  For an instant, I think she’s blushing.  I don't know why Mom would blush over Dad getting an artificial knee put in; that's weird.  "On the day your mom was killed, Commander Jameson shot you in the leg."

"She was the lady you killed, right mom?" I ask.

Mom nods.  "Anyway, while you were in prison, it got infected.  After I rescued you from Batalla hall, we went to Las Vegas to find the Patriots."  My mom blushes again.  "You almost passed out on the street there, but the Patriots found us and took us to their hideout.  That's when you got your knee."

Dad looks down.  "Well, that's my knee," he says.  "Are you ready to go?"

I nod.  We get in the elevator and go down to the garage.  My mom told me once that when I was really little, they’d have to take the stairs because the power would go out a lot, and you never wanted to get stuck in an elevator when the electricity went out.  Now, we have power almost all the time; sometimes they lose power in Lake or Winter or one of the poor sectors in the city, but Mom says they never used to have electricity there, so even that's an improvement.

We get into the car and Mom starts to drive.  Once in my history class I did a report on how kids used to have fun in the United States; there used to be this gigantic amusement park called Disneyland, but it was destroyed in the Flood of 2046.  When I was looking it up on the internet, I saw pictures of lots of people having fun there, and they all looked like they were really happy.  Disneyland used to have a big mouse as a mascot; I'm not sure what that's all about.  They get mice in some of the houses in the poorer sectors of the city, and they don't like that.

"I've never been to an amusement park before," Dad says.

I raise my eyebrows.  "Really?"  That’s hard to believe.  Mom usually takes me here at least once a year.

"When we were kids, nobody went to amusement parks," Mom says.  "Everybody was too preoccupied with the war.  When the war finally ended around the time you were born, they built a few places like this."

Dad looks back at me.  "Even if they did have amusement parks, my family wouldn't have been able to afford it.  It was difficult enough sometimes getting enough money to buy food to eat."

The thought of Dad not having enough food makes me sad.  I've always had plenty to eat, and we never worried about money.

The parking lot is almost full today.  Some people are bringing in their own lunches.  We usually buy lunch in the park, even though it's expensive.  Dad holds my mom's hand as we walk towards the entrance.  Maybe he's scared, or maybe he just likes holding Mom's hand; I'm not sure.

"Where do you want to go first?" Mom asks after we pay for tickets and go into the park.

"I don't know anything about these places."  Dad looks at me.  "Where do _you_ think we should go first?"

I give him a wicked grin.  "The roller coaster!"

"Are you sure?" my mom asks.  She looks over at my dad and laughs.  "Yeah, I think he can handle it."

Dad laughs nervously.  "Is there something I should be worried about?"

Mom puts one arm around his waist and points to the roller coaster with her free hand.  "It's perfectly safe.  But it is an adrenaline rush.  With the life you've had, I think you'll be okay."

Dad looks at the roller coaster, then looks at her skeptically.  "If you say so."

We get in line for the roller coaster.  "You have to be tall enough to go on this ride."  I point to a sign with a magician holding up a magic wand at a height that was just a little shorter than I am.  "Last year was the first year I was tall enough to go."  I stick out my chest with pride.

The lines to go on the rides at the Magic Castle are always long.  "You should have told me that the lines would be long," Dad says.  "I would have brought some of those questions along with me."

"So we could tell our son more war stories?"  Mom shakes her head.

Dad shrugs.  "He's going to find out eventually.  I _was_ a character in the video game he was playing yesterday.  You said yourself that they didn't even get my hair right.  Would you rather have him find out the truth from us, or half-truths from the media?"  He frowns.  "I don't even know the truth, since I forgot it."

"The truth, I guess," Mom says.

The line seems to take forever, but we finally get to the front.  We climb into a car, and the ride attendant straps us into our seats.  My dad looks a little frightened.  I grin at him.

I can hardly breathe as our car is pulled up the initial hill, but I know this is going to be great.  When the coaster tips over the top of the hill and starts speeding down, my stomach twists in knots.  I scream with delight.  I love these things.

When we get off, my dad is laughing.  "That was amazing!" he exclaims.  "We'll have to go again."

After we go on a few more rides, it's time for lunch.  Dad orders a mini pizza, I get a burger and fries, and Mom gets chicken strips.

When we sit down, I'm starving, and thirsty.  The day has been warm, and I quickly find that my cup is empty.

"Can I go get a refill?"  I hold up my cup.

"Go ahead," Mom says.

I spot a gorgeous girl next to the soda fountain.  I smile at her.

"Hi," she smiles back at me.  "I'm Gina."

"I'm John."

"My mom wants to know if that's Day over there."  She tilts her head in my dad's direction.  Mom is missing; she must have gone to the bathroom.

"Yeah.  That's my dad."  I'm beaming with pride.

"I thought so."  She looks at me and smiles.  "You know, you're really cute."

_Yeah, I know._ That would be rude to say though.  "Thanks."

"Would it be okay if I… kissed you?" she looks down at her shoes.  "On the cheek.  I've never met a real celebrity before."

"I'm not a celebrity," I say.  "Most people don't even believe that Day's my dad."

"Close enough."

"But it would be okay if you kissed me.  I don't mind."

She leans over and kisses my cheek.  I smile at her.  She giggles.

"Well, I better be going.  My mom's going to be really excited that she saw Day today."

I look over and see my Dad watching us.  "Uh, yeah, I think Dad probably wants me to go back as well.  Nice meeting you, sweetheart."  I wink at her, then head back to my dad with my soda.

When I sit down, my dad's not smiling.

"Sometimes, you're a little too much like me for your own good."

"Huh?"

"You don't have to let every pretty girl kiss you that wants to."

"I liked it."

"I'm sure you did, but some day you'll probably meet a really special girl that you love a lot.  Do you think it will make her feel special if you've kissed so many girls that you can't even remember how many you've kissed?"

I look down at my plate.  "Uhh, I guess not."

"Girls like you because you're cute.  And they will like you even more because I'm your dad, yeah?"  Mom sits down next to him.

I grin.  "Yeah, they do like me."

"What's going on?" Mom looks at me curiously.

"Little Romeo here got a girl to kiss him at the soda machine."

"I see," Mom nods.  "Your dad knows a lot about kissing.  You'll probably want to listen to him on that one."

"So, how many girls have you kissed, Dad?"

He shrugs.  "I don't know.  At least a hundred.  I lost track.  Do you think that makes Mom feel special?"

I look at my mom and frown.  "No."

"And she should feel special, because she's the most amazing girl I've ever met.  But I could have done better when I was your age, and especially when I was older, by kissing fewer girls."

I'm confused.  "But you kissed mom the day you met her this time."

Dad glances at Mom.  "Day after we 'met'.  Our situation is a little different than most.  You'll probably never get amnesia and find out that you have a child with somebody.  You'll probably never meet anybody else in our same situation.  In our case, I already knew that I kissed her before, obviously, because we had you.  Also, I remembered that I knew something about her.  It's hard to explain.  It's like when you are trying to think of a word, and it's on the tip of your tongue, but you just can't quite recall it.  So you can't really compare this one situation to most."

I don't really understand why their situation is different than most people's,.  And Dad wasn't just kissing her on the cheek.  He was _really_ kissing her, and Mom was kissing him back just as enthusiastically.  Maybe that's just what grownups do.  They make up rules they expect you to follow, but then they think their situation is different, so they don't even follow them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you gotten to read the Rebel sampler yet? You can download it at Fierce Reads: https://read.macmillan.com/mcpg/rebel/?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=socialpost&utm_term=na-rebelexcerptmarie&utm_content=na-read-onlineexcerpt&utm_campaign=9781250221704
> 
> Although I had finished writing the first draft to this book before I knew they were making a Legend 4, I might make a few minor edits to this from things I learned from the Rebel sampler. I plan to have all the chapters to this story out before Rebel comes out in October though.
> 
> I started writing a new fanfic that takes place between Wildcard and Legend over the weekend. Don't know how long it's going to take to write or even a lot that's going to happen in the story yet, but I'll post it here when it's ready.
> 
> As always, comments are welcome! Thanks for reading!


	8. Lake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day takes John to his old home.

**Daniel**

By the time we leave the park at closing, I’m beaming.  I don’t know if I’ve ever had so much fun in my life.  John is half-asleep by the time we get to June's apartment.  I carry him to bed, cover him up, and kiss him on the cheek; June also kisses him.  We close his door behind us before heading out to the living room and sitting on her couch.

June plays with my hair.  “I haven’t seen John this happy in a long time.”

I turn towards her and put my hand on her waist.  When I kiss her neck, she giggles.

My insides twist.  Although I want more of her, that’s probably not a good idea.

She pushes me away.  "I had a good time today, but – John is very observant."

"Just like you.”  I can’t help but smile.  “You want to be a good example for him, don’t you?"

She takes my hand.  "You saw him today, with the girls.  He doesn’t really understand the whole amnesia thing, or our history.  He thinks you don't remember anything.  As if we were complete strangers, rather than being two people who once loved each other and are trying to rediscover each other again."

Even though I don’t remember June from before, she doesn’t feel like a stranger to me.  Deep down inside, a part of me feels like I belong with her.  I look down at my hand and my mouth widens in a smile.

"You have an idea," she observes.

"Yes.  But part of it is a surprise for you."

"Hmmm… really?"  She rests her head on my shoulder.

"Remember how you told me that you had a little trouble with the day care?  Why don't I pick up John after my job interview this week?  I can annoy the day care workers, teach John an important life lesson or two, and give you a surprise."

"What do you have in mind?"

"I want to take him to Lake.  Let him see where I grew up.  Don't worry, we'll be safe.  For one thing, I'm Day.  For another thing, I'll be armed in case anything unexpected happens."

She arches an eyebrow at me.

"He needs to see it.  He needs to see how I lived.  And why my life choices weren't the same as we expect from him."

 

I look good today.  I know it.  Well, I always look good, but today I look especially good, because I had a job interview earlier today, and I dressed up for it.  I got the job, of course — it would be a little difficult not to when your boss's boss's boss is your girlfriend, or at least your child's mother — but I still dressed well.

When I enter the day care center, a young, tan-skinned woman with long, curly hair greets me near the entryway.  "Hello, can I help you?"  She's standing next to a tall, fair-skinned brunette.  "I'm Wendy, and this is Nikki."

"Hello, ladies," I say, flashing them a flirtatious smile.

Nikki brushes her hair behind her ear.  "We'd be happy to help you with anything," she smiles at me seductively.  "If you need to find something… a date…"

"You work at a day care center, sweetheart.  You're about thirteen years too late."  I put a hand in one of my pockets.  "Actually, I'm here to pick up my son.  My… girlfriend… should have added me to the list of people authorized to pick him up last week."  I'm not exactly sure what I should call June right now.  She's a lot more to me than just being John's mom, yet I don't know if she'd want me to call her girlfriend yet.  It doesn't matter, anyway.  It's better that they think that we're closer anyway.

"And your son is…" Nikki asks.

"John Iparis."

"Oh."  Nikki's face drains of blood so it’s paler than my hair.

I laugh.  "You can imagine my surprise.  Being shot and almost dying, going into a coma for five months, waking up and going on to live my life," I shrug, "and then coming back to the Republic to find that I have a ten-year-old son.  Very confusing."

I shake my head.  "'Of course, my personal problems are none of your concern.  What I do find disturbing is how people have been treating my son because of me.  Last week, I find out my son has been bullied because of me, and my girlfriend's reputation has been maligned because for some reason they can't believe that John is my son --"

Wendy and, especially Nikki, are not smiling.  "if you don't know who the father of your child is, why would you make up Day?  Don't you think it would make more sense to invent someone that couldn't refute your claim, like some guy you met in the maintenance department or some ambassador's aide in China?  I know there have been plenty of tabloid articles about me having one person or another's child, but nobody ever takes those seriously.  It's unlikely that I'm listed on school registration forms as the parent."

Wendy holds out a tablet.  "I — I need you to put your thumbprint here, Mr. Wing, so we can verify your identity."

I press my thumb down on the pad.  "I also find it upsetting that, rather than going ahead and _asking_ my girlfriend whether my son is making up stories or not, my son's day care immediately assumes my son has mental issues rather than believing that maybe he’s telling the truth.  After all, what's so strange about someone's father coming to have dinner with them?"  My gaze shifts between the two of them.  "This is going to stop."

"Uhh, yes sir," Nikki says.  "I'll take you to his classroom."  She nearly stumbles over her feet as I follow her.

At the end of the hallway, she uses her badge to electronically open a door.  John is sitting on a carpet in the corner of the room, reading a book to a girl.  When he sees me, his eyes light up.  He jumps to his feet and gives me a hug when he reaches me.

"Dad!" he exclaims.  "I didn't know you'd be here!"

"I thought I'd surprise you."

John looks back at the girl.  "That's my friend Nicole.  I need to put my book away."  He was still holding onto it.  "The teachers get mad when you don't."  He puts the book on a nearby bookshelf, then walks over to a row of plastic bins with different names on it.  "This one's mine," he says, pointing to a bin that was labeled 'John Iparis'.  "I don't have anything to take home today though, since I don't have school right now, so we don't have homework.  I have to get my backpack though."  His red backpack was hanging below his bin.

"I thought I'd take you on a little field trip this afternoon," I tell him as we leave the building.  "I just finished my job interview, and since I'll be starting work on Monday, I thought I'd better take you now."

"Where are you going to work?" John asks.

"I'll be in charge of intelligence for Lake, Winter, and Alta."

John wrinkles his nose.

"And that's exactly why we're going on this field trip," I say.

"Where are we going?"

"Lake.  We're going to go see where my old house used to be."

John's eyes widen.  "Is that even safe?"

"Safer than it used to be," I shrug.  "You'll be perfectly fine.  You'll be with Day, after all."  I smile.  "Besides, I'm well-armed."

"Like with guns and stuff?"

"A gun… and knives."

We head towards the train station.  "We aren't taking a car?"

"I don't know how to drive yet.  June will have to teach me."

"You don't know how to drive?" his eyes widen.

"No.  When I used to live here, I didn't have money for a car, and when I lived in Antarctica, I didn't need one.  So today we're taking a train."

John nods.  "Mom said she'll teach me how to drive in a few years."

"Hopefully I’ll learn sooner than that."

We get on the train and get off at the Sepulveda train station.  "We can walk from here."

The streets are cleaner than they used to be.  Still, some of the trash cans on the street corners are overflowing.  Dirty kids wearing tattered rags are playing soccer with wadded up newspaper in front of their homes.  Some of the adults have bandaged hands or have scars on their faces.  We pass a bar with a scantily-dressed woman standing outside.  She smiles at me, and I shake my head.

"Some of the people are staring at us," John whispers to me.

"That's because we're dressed nice.  You stick out as someone that doesn't belong here."

I can tell he's uncomfortable, but he has to see this place.  He needs to see how these people live.  Not everything is like it is in Ruby; in fact, most people don't have privileged lives like we do in the gem sectors.

A boy about John's age kicks a wadded-up newspaper ball in front of us.

"Hi," John waves at the boy and smiles.  The boy looks at him with fearful eyes and scurries away.

"Why'd he do that?"  He watches the boy duck behind a corner.

"He's probably afraid of you.  Or me.  Sometimes the city patrols come through and kids can get into trouble if they don't behave around them.  Once when I was a kid, I accidently hit a police officer with a ball and they ended up taking the chicken my mom was making for dinner that night.  We normally couldn't afford a whole roasted chicken, but Mom had saved her money and sold things to buy it."

"You're not a policeman though."

"I know.  But how many nicely dressed people do you see around here?  Most well-dressed people here _are_ police officers."

John is silent as we walk down the street.  We're on Figueroa now, only a few streets away from my old home on Figueroa and Watson.  I take a deep breath.  It's been more than ten years since I've been here.  I don't know what I expect to see.  Will my old home still be there?  Will it have been torn down?  Will another home have been rebuilt over it?

When we get to the corner, I see it, still standing.  Empty.  A one-foot strip of yard in front of the house is overgrown with weeds, and the wall seems to be growing a crack in the middle.  The homes around it are also empty.  It's as if this part of the city was overlooked and everybody else moved on.

I see the spot where my mom was shot.  Most of the bloodstain has faded, but there's still a patch of pavement that's stained a slightly darker brown color.  A crack runs through the stain, and a bunch of sea daisies peeks through the crack.  Fitting.  My mom used to love that flower.  I sit on the ground next to where she died.

"Are you okay?" John asks, sitting next to me.

"This is where your grandma died."  My voice is hoarse.

"Oh.  I'm sorry."

I think of the day.  It's one of the few memories I have from that time period before I woke up from my coma.  I spoke to my mom that day.  I hadn't talked to her for years before that; she thought I was dead.  I see soldiers arrive.  I see June, looking at me with unfeeling eyes as Eden and John are taken away.

"Turn yourself in.  Please.  No one will get hurt," I remember June pleading.  In response, I use a slingshot to hit a guard with a rock.

An older lady shouted something at me.  June looked at her with surprise.  "Okay, Iparis," the older lady said.  "We've tried your tactic.  Now let's try mine.  Cop her."

A dark haired-captain shot my mom.  Blood splattered out of the back of her head and I watched her crumple to the ground.  For a split-second, I saw June, her mouth wide in shock and horror.

_She didn't want my mom to die._

Yet, I must have blamed her for it.  I must have connected her to the memory of my mom's death.  My mom might have lived if June hadn't found me.  Eden and John might not have been captured, and John might not have died trying to save me.  It's not really her fault though.  Wouldn't I have done the same thing if I thought she had killed my brother?

"She didn't want my mom to die," I whisper, awed by the realization.

"Who?"

My mind returns to reality and I notice my son sitting next to me.

"Your mom."  He has his arm around me, trying to comfort me.  I don't know if he knows this part of our history or not.

"Of course she wouldn't want your mom to die."

"But that's why she left.  That's why she never told me about you, why she let me think she was a stranger.  I must have blamed her, but it wasn't her fault."  I shake my head.  "I would have done the same thing as she did, if she thought I had killed her brother."

"You're not making any sense, Dad."

"I don't have to right now, John.  Someday, you'll find out what happened here."

I look at our house.  The strange X that had been painted on our front door is almost gone.  The wood is weathered and warped.  Boards cover the window in front of our house.

"This was where I lived," I say.

"It's small," John replies.

I nod.  I walk around to the backyard, wading through waist-high weeds.  The back door looks like it was also boarded up, but the wooden planks had been removed and lie on the ground next to the door.  I go inside, and John follows me.

Patches of grass now grow in the corners of the house.  Our old kitchen table is there, covered in dust and cobwebs.  I run my hands along the table.  Pulverized plant dust is scattered on top.

"It's hard to believe that you used to live here, Dad," John says.  We could fit your whole house in my living room."

I nod.  I don't really want to see any more.  "Let's go.  I've seen enough."

We leave the house silently.  It feels like we’re leaving a holy place.  I don't think John understands what he's seen, but he knows it's a place with sad memories.  It used to be a place with good memories too.  It was the place where Dad would embrace me when he came back from the warfront.  It was the place where I would play with my baby brother Eden and my older brother John, and it was where I would see Mom after she came home from a hard day at work.  Too bad all those happy memories were overshadowed by our last hour together.

"Do you know if your mom has any paperclips at home?" I ask, trying to lighten the mood.

John shrugs.  "I don't know.  She might have some in her desk."

'I don't know' is not definitive enough.  I need some now.  "That's fine.  We'll stop at a store and get some."

We pass by a general store on our walk back to the train station.  "In here." I direct my son inside.

The clerk, a middle-aged man with greying temples, looks at us warily.  "Is there something I can do for you, sir?"  His voice is shaky.

I wave my hand at him.  "Relax, cousin, I’m not from the police.  I'm just some goddy rich trot that wants to spend some money in your store."

John giggles.  "That's funny, how you talk about yourself."

"It's true though," I reply quietly.  "At least that's what the store clerk is thinking of us.  And you should be thankful that that's what you are, yeah?"

John nods.

I find a box of paperclips in the meager office supply section, then go to the cash register and place it on the counter.

"I'm sorry, our electronic payment system isn't working."  The man frowns.  "I know you guys from the gem sectors are used to it, but the power goes out a lot here, so it's not reliable.  You'll have to use cash."

"That's fine."

"That will be twenty notes."

I get out my wallet and hand him a thousand note bill.  "Keep the change," I say.  "If you aren't allowed to keep the change, use it to pay the bills for the next customers that come along."

"Might not want to let people know you're carrying around that kind of money," the store clerk says.

"That's okay." I lift up the corner of my shirt, revealing the handle of a knife tucked underneath my clothes.  "I'm probably the most well-armed person on this street right now."  I grin at him.

"Dad, you just gave him --" John whispers to me as we walk away.

"Yes, remember last week?  I was willing to spend that sort of money on video games for you.  When I used to live on the streets, I would have put my life in danger to get that sort of money."

I stop and turn around, placing another thousand notes on the counter.  "I used to steal from people like you," I say.  "Maybe even _from_ you.  If I did, I'm sorry.  I was hungry."  The man's eyes are wide.  "And if you're thinking about turning me in, don't bother.  The Elector already pardoned me for all my crimes."

"You're Day." His voice is full of awe.

"Yes."  I walk away, and we return to June's apartment.

 

June gave me a key to her apartment in case I need to take John home after going somewhere with him.  After unlocking her apartment, we step inside and I sit on her couch.  I take some paperclips out of the package I bought.

"What are you going to do with those?"  John sits next to me.

"You remember the people you saw in Lake today, yeah?" I ask.  John nods.  "Do you think those people have loved ones?"

"Of course."

"Well, when the people living in Lake want to show people that they care about them, do you think they go to the jewelry store and buy something?"

"I guess not."  He shakes his head.  "They don't have the money."

"They make things for each other most of the time.  When I was living on the streets, I used to find things and drop them off for your grandma and Uncle Eden.  Your Uncle John was the only person in our family that knew I was still alive."

I show him my right hand.  "When I woke up from my coma, I was wearing this."  I point to my paperclip ring.  "Where do you think it came from?"

John shrugs.  "I don't know.  Mom?"

"Yes.  Of course, I didn't know that until last week."  I look at John.  "I spent ten years trying to figure out where this came from."  I pause for a moment.  "Where do you think your mom found out about these?  Do you think they give these to each other in Ruby?"

John shakes his head.

"So at some point, I must have either told her about these rings or I made her one myself.  But your mom doesn't have one.  So I'm going to make her one.  Can you keep it a secret until I give it to her?"

John nods.

"I mean it.  It will ruin the surprise if you tell her, okay?"

"Yes, Dad."

I begin to twist the wires together, creating something beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	9. Toughen Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day and June decide to give John fighting lessons.

**June**

I go straight home after work.  It feels strange to not have to pick John up from day care.  I hope he had a good time with his dad this afternoon.

My son is standing at the door, ready to greet me, when I open it.  "Hi, Mom!  Dad took me to Lake sector today!"

"Yes, I know."  I smirk.  "Good thing he told me he was going.  You can't keep a secret from me."

"Yes I can!"  He pouts.  "Dad took me to a store today, and he bought --" he frowns.  "Well, I'm not going to tell you what he bought, because it's a surprise, but he gave the guy a thousand notes and let him keep the change."

Daniel was always generous to the people of Lake.  That might be one of the reasons why everybody loved Day, even though he was the Republic's most wanted criminal.

He is sitting on my couch.  I see him slip something small into his pocket, but I don't know what it is.

"You went to a store in the Lake sector?"

"Yeah."  I'm not sure what Daniel would be buying in Lake for me for a surprise.  He looks up and smiles.  "Hi."

"Hi."

"Would it be okay if we go for a walk?  We could pick up some dinner so you don't have to cook."

"Sure.  Just let me set down my stuff."

I set my bags down, get a drink of water, and sit next to him.  "John seems to have had a good time."

"I think he did.  Did you have a good day at work?"

"Yes.  Anden is going to be in town next week, so we had to make sure that security is ready for tomorrow.  We hired a new intelligence director for Lake, Winter, and Alta districts."  I wink at him.

"Oh, really." He leans closer to me.  "I bet he'll be your best employee."

"I might have to have him over for work dinners."  I run my fingers through his hair.

"Hmmm…" he frowns.  "Should I be jealous?"

"Absolutely."  I smile, looking into his eyes.  "I hear he's very good looking, and a great kisser."

"Mom, they hired Dad for that job!" John says.

"Okay, time for our walk." I jump up.  "We'll be back in a bit, John, okay?  You'll be fine."

"Okay, Mom."  John sits at the kitchen table, where his laptop is open to a game.

We take the elevator down to the first floor.  "How was it, going back there?" I ask quietly.  "That must have been difficult."

He takes a deep breath.  "It's sad that all the happy memories I had there were replaced with the memories of that one hour."  He takes my hand.  "But I realized something today.  What happened there… was never what you wanted."

"No."  We walk around the building.  The sun is starting to sink in the sky, but the air is still warm.  A slight breeze blows through the trees lining the sidewalk.

"Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't thought I killed your brother?  None of this would have happened."  He points to the street around us.  "I never would have met you.  I probably would have died anyway.  No, I know I would have died.  From that goddy brain tumor."

"Yes."

"Eden would have never gotten a scholarship to that engineering school in Antarctica.  He might have got into a high school; he was always smarter than the rest of us, but he would have been blind, so God knows what would have happened to him."

"We would have lost the war to the Colonies," I say.  "They were angry over the plague experiments, and made an alliance with Africa, but you were the catalyst that helped us win the war."

He runs a hand through his hair.  "Why does life have to be so messed up?" he asks.  "Yes, there's some good, but it takes so much bad to get to the good."

I put my hand on his arm.  "I don't know."

"Well, it's okay.  I’m okay.  I'll be okay."  He smiles weakly at me.  "I made you something."

"Really?"

"Mmm hmm."  He reaches his hand into his pocket.  "I already have one, so I figured that you might need one too."  He takes out a paperclip ring.

I smile.  "Is this what you went to the store in Lake for?"

He gives me a lopsided smile.  "Yeah.  They have office supply stores in Ruby, but I figure they probably need my business more in Lake, and I was already there."

I take the ring and put it on my hand.  "Now we match," I say.

"It's not a marriage proposal or anything," he laughs nervously, "but I wanted you to know that, even though we've only known each other, at least this time around, for a couple of weeks, that you mean something to me."

I put my arms around him.  "Thank you."

He returns my embrace and runs his hands through my hair. We stand there for fifteen seconds.  "We need to teach John how to fight."

I let go of him.  "Why do you say that?"

"Doesn't everybody need to know how to fight?  I don't want him to start a fight or anything, and I don’t think that he would, but if kids are going to bully him, he should be able to defend himself, yeah?  You had to learn how to fight.  I had to learn how to fight."

I smile.  "I think I recall teaching _you_ how to fight at one point."

"You have that look on your face.  The one that says that it was a little more than just sparring."

"Yeah…"

"I wonder how that works with amnesia.  I know I forgot the things I did and the people I met during that time, but I wonder if I forgot skills like fighting."

"There's only one way to find out."  We're almost back to the entrance to our apartment building again.  "Why don't I test your skills this evening?"

"Sounds good."

When we get to my apartment, John is still playing his video game.  "You're going to learn how to fight," I tell him.

He looks surprised.  "Why?"

"It's a good skill to have.  Besides, didn't you tell me that kids at your school were teasing you?"

"Yeah, but they weren't hitting me or anything."

"Well, you should be able to stand up for yourself.  So we're going to spend some time over the next month teaching you how to fight.  That way, you can always take care of yourself if something happens."

"Okay."

"Go change into something comfortable, and we'll start now."

When he emerges from his room, he's wearing shorts and a t-shirt.  "Ready, I guess."

"We'll need to work on your confidence, but first I want to teach you some blocks.  If somebody is trying to hit you, you'll want to block their punch if possible, okay?"

He nods.

Daniel observes as I teach John some blocks and dodges until it's time for him to get ready for bed.  He has his dad's good balance, and he's a natural at picking up the skills.  I stress to him not to pick fights with anybody, but to be ready to defend himself if he needs to.  By the time he starts school in a month, he should be prepared to deal with anybody.

"Now for you," I say to Daniel after we put John to bed.  "Let's see if you forgot our lesson when you had amnesia.  Show me how you would stand if you were preparing to hit me."

He stands with his feet shoulder width apart, but I could easily knock him off balance.  "Move one of your feet slightly forward," I tell him.  "You don't want me to knock you over."  I give him a wicked smile.  "Well, maybe you wouldn't mind if _I_ knocked you over, but you don't want an enemy catching you off guard."

He laughs at that, then repositions his feet.

"Now make sure that your hands are protecting your face."  I reposition his fists so that his head is protected.  "Now try to hit me."

He tries to swing at me.  I dodge it.  "Make sure you watch where your punches go.  Also, put your hips into your swing, okay?"

He nods.

I swing at him, and he blocks me, but just at the very last minute.  "You're not going to see where my kicks and punches are going if you're looking at my eyes," I tell him.  "I see you forgot this lesson when you had amnesia.  You need to look at my chest."

"Yes, ma'am."  His eyes lower, and he smiles.

Of course, I knew he was going to do that.  I also knew that he would be distracted this way.  I swing at him and knock him to the ground, pinning him to the floor.  My hands imprison his wrists on the ground, and my legs straddle his stomach.  I remember doing this exact same thing in the tunnels between the Republic and the Colonies, although I'm sure that Daniel doesn't.

"Also, don't let a pretty girl's chest distract you from fighting," I say.

"Well, then, I guess it's a good thing you're the only pretty girl that can have that effect on me," he says.

I kiss him.  "I better."

"Big talk from someone I only met a couple weeks ago."  He smiles at me and kisses me again.  "But that's okay.  I'm crazy about you.  I feel like I've known you a lot longer than that."

I remind myself to make a doctor’s appointment so I can get a prescription for birth control.  When Daniel returned from San Francisco after being away for eight months, I thought, well, we thought, we were over each other.  Obviously, that turned out to not be the case, as John was conceived ten days later.  I don’t expect to need it, but it’s probably better to be safe than sorry.

"That's because you have known me longer," I kiss him again.  "You just don't remember."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! It's my goal to finish edits on at least one chapter per week (although I might not manage that over Fourth of July week).
> 
> I just started writing THE RIFT, which is a story that's been on my mind for about a year now. It's different than any of my other fanfics, because it takes place between Wildcard and Life Before Legend and tells the story of Day and June's grandparents when they were teens! It's all original characters except for Asher Wing and Anden's father (maybe Hammie's sister Brooke will be in there too). It's mostly set at Drake University in the 2080s.
> 
> Comments are appreciated.


	10. Dinner With the Elector

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> June invites Day, Eden, and the Elector over for dinner.

**Daniel**

The doorbell rings and John rushes to open it.

“Da–” he begins.  “Er… Elector!”

The Elector wraps his arms around him in a bear hug.  I want to shrink into the shadows or go downstairs to my apartment.  Anywhere but here.

June looks over at me.  “Daniel, maybe we should get everybody drinks in the kitchen.”  Her tone and the cock of her head tell me this is not a suggestion.

In the kitchen, I rest my palms against the kitchen counter and lean on them, not looking at June.

“Daniel, I–”

“Why did you invite me tonight?” I ask.  I try to mask the irritation in my voice, but fail miserably.

“Perhaps I should have thought about how John would react beforehand.”  She lightly rests her hand on my shoulder.  “Anden was the only father figure John ever knew until a couple months ago.”

“And whose fault is that?”  I spin around to face her.  My anger is simmers below the surface.

“Dammit!  Are you going to hold his over my head for the rest of my life?”  She’s standing so close, I can almost feel her heartbeat thumping against my chest.

I can’t stay mad at her long.  Not with her standing this close.  “I’m sorry.  I just–it was unexpected.  To think of John thinking of someone else as his father.”

She wraps her arms around my waist and rests her head on my chest.  “He always knew about you,” she whispers.  “Anden and I were close for a while.  I think it’s only natural for a child to think of the main male person in their life as their father.  I should have talked to John about how to address him ahead of time.”

She releases me, and I open the cabinet where she keeps the glasses.  “I guess we should bring everybody drinks like you suggested.”

“Maybe we should have asked the what they wanted to drink.”

June pulls a bottle of wine out of the pantry.  “We’re probably safe with wine.  Except for John.  He can have milk.”

I get the milk out of the refrigerator, pour it into a wine glass, and wink at June.  “This way he can feel more grown-up,” I say.

When we exit the kitchen, everybody is sitting in the living room.  The Elector is sitting on the love seat next to John, while Eden is sitting on one end of the couch, leaving room for June and me.  I hand John and the Elector their drinks and sit next to June.

“It’s been a long time,” the Elector says.

“So long I don’t remember it.”  I chuckle nervously.

“Yes, I suppose you wouldn’t remember.  Whether you remember what you did or not, you have my undying gratitude.”

“It’s easy to be a hero when you don’t remember what you did,” I shrug.

He turns to Eden.  “You look much older than last time I last saw you.”

Eden smiles.  “I suppose that’s what happens when you’re not twelve anymore.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to greet you when you returned to the Republic.”  He took a sip of his wine.  “We might not be at war anymore, but we still have plenty to worry about.”

“That’s okay.  I’d never expect the leader of a country to greet us anyway.  I’m just a science geek.”

“Don’t sell yourself short.  I’ve seen some of your designs; they’re amazing.”

Eden looks down into his wine glass and blushes.

“Are you looking forward to school this year, John?”

John’s eyes light up.  “Yes sir!  I haven’t seen my best friend since May, and we’re in the same class!  Plus, I get to take my real dad to parents’ day.”

The Elector’s face seems to sour for such a small amount of time, I’d almost believe I imagined it.  He quickly papers over it with a calm expression.

“I’m glad he’s back in your life then.”  His jaw looks tight.

The oven beeps, and June jumps up.  “Dinner’s ready!”  She smiles.  I get up to help her.

When she opens the oven door, the heavenly scent of ham wafts up to my nose.  I cut slices from the ham while she brings out the scalloped potatoes and green beans.

The Elector is staring at a framed arrangement of dried flowers on the wall.  “This is new.”

“Eden made it for me.  He’s very talented at pressing flowers.”

He lifts an eyebrow.  “There’s more to you than being an engineering genius, I see.”

Eden takes a seat next to me.  “It’s nothing.”

I poke him in the elbow.  “Eden’s just being modest.  He’s been making these arrangements for years.  If he wasn’t so smart, he could go into the floral industry.”

The dinner itself goes well, although there are a few times when things get uncomfortable for one or more of us.  I don’t want to hear about the times when the Elector and June were together, and he doesn’t want to hear about June and I being together either.

When we finish the meal, the Elector lays his napkin to the side of his plate.  “I had a lovely evening,” he says.  “But I should be going.  We do have that meeting tomorrow morning, June.  There are a few security issues we need to discuss.”

“Of course.”  June stands up and walks with him to the door.  “I’m glad we could have an informal evening together before we get down to the other business tomorrow.”

I watch as he stands next to June by the door.  It looks like he wants to kiss her, but he refrains.  “Good night June.”  He looks over to us.  “Good night Daniel, Eden, John.”

We wave at him before he leaves, and I relax a little when he’s gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized that I meant to write this chapter before I started publishing this book, but I forgot to do so. While the first draft of this book was written before Rebel was announced, I did get the chance to read the Rebel sampler, and you might see something from this chapter that comes up in Rebel (although it didn't affect the plot of this story).


	11. School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John's first couple of days at the new school year, including parent's day.

**John**

It's the first day of the new school year and it feels like the ants that sometimes march in front of our building are marching around in my stomach.  Mom and Dad have been teaching me how to fight nearly every evening.  There have been plenty of nights where I’ve gone to bed exhausted with sore muscles, but I know I can face anybody at this school and can handle any situation now.

Tomorrow is parents' day.

I take a seat in the front of the class.  Maybe it’s a little weird, but I actually like to learn.  The school part would be cool too if it weren’t for the bullies.

Rex Johnson sits next to me.  He was one of the boys that teased me relentlessly last year.  "So John, did you find out who your real dad was over the summer?"

I sit silently and look straight ahead, attempting to ignore him.  I'm looking forward to seeing his reaction when he sees my dad tomorrow.

"What?  You forgot how to talk in the last few months?"  He glares at me.

"No," I turn to face him.  "I didn't think responding was worth my time."

"Well, it better be."  He shoves me in the shoulder, and I jump out of my seat and face him.  "I don't like being ignored."

"I don't really care what you like or not."

"Big talk from someone who makes up stories about who his parents are so he feels more important."  He grabs my hand and I twist out of his grip, just like Mom showed me.  A crowd of kids is forming around us.

"I don't see why you care.  Does your dad suck so bad that you're bothered by mine?"

He winces.  I must have hit a nerve.

Rex swings at me, and I duck, dodging his blow.  He stumbles forward.  "Don't talk about him like that!"

"But it's perfectly okay for you to talk about mine, right?  If you can talk about my dad like that, I can talk about yours."

He tries to kick me.  I grab his leg and knock him off balance.  He falls into the desk behind him and grabs it to keep from falling on the floor.  "Why don't you just leave me alone, okay?" I tell him.  "I don't give a flying crap about your parents."

Our teacher, whom the class roster lists as Mr. Tuttle, comes into the classroom.  I sit in my seat, but continue to glare at Rex.  He gives us a stern look.  "I will not tolerate fighting in my classroom."

"Yes, sir," _He deserved it though_ , I think.

"Rex started it," my friend, Tanis Blackwell, says.  He must have entered the classroom while I was being attacked. He has taken the seat on my right.  "John was just trying to defend himself."

"Sit down," Mr. Tuttle says.  When Rex moves to sit in the chair to my left, he points to a chair in another row.  "Not next to each other."

 

At lunch, the cafeteria is just as I remember it, with round tables made of faux wood that fold up whenever they need to use the room for something else, sterile white walls with a stripe of crimson and gold running along the wall (our school’s colors) and long lines to wait for subpar food.  It appears to be overcooked hamburger day.

When I get through the line, I sit next to Tanis.  "Good job standing up to Rex in class today," he says.  "I can't stand that jerk."

"Me neither.  I can't wait to see the look on his face tomorrow on parents' day."  I take a bite out of my hamburger.  "When my _dad_ shows up."

"Wait, your _dad_ is going to be here tomorrow?" Tanis's eyes widen.  "As in… Day?"

"Well, yeah.  That would be the one."

Tanis scratches his head.  "Sorry, I thought you didn't know him.  I thought maybe you made that up."

"Why would I do that?  Wouldn't it have been easier to make up someone _normal_?"

He shrugs.  "I guess." Tanis grins at me.  "I’m looking forward to seeing his eyes bug out when he sees your dad."

 

The teacher put extra seats in the classroom for parents' day.  It’s difficult to walk down the aisles, the room is so crowded with chairs.  My dad hasn't arrived because he had to stop by the front office to get a name tag.

"Must have gotten your mom to come today," Rex says to me as he goes to sit in his seat.  He purposely bumps into my shoulder as he passes.  I stay silent.

Some of the parents file into the classroom.  A few minutes later, my dad walks in.  He has "Day" printed on his name tag, even though most people that know him don't call him that anymore.

I look behind me and smirk.  Rex's mouth is hanging wide open.

"Let me see your history book," he whispers to me as he sits in the chair next to mine.  I pull it out of my backpack and hand it to him.  He flips the pages to the back of the book, noting the section on the Colonial War.  He puts his finger on a picture of him standing on a balcony at the Capitol Tower in Denver.  "Good," he says, winking at me.

One by one, the parents stand in front of the students and tell about their jobs.  My dad is the last that they call.  He confidently strides to the front of the class.

"My name is Daniel Wing," he begins, "but most people that don't know me call me Day.  I work in intelligence today, but before I got amnesia and moved to Antarctica, I made an appearance on page 375 in your history book.  I helped the Republic win the war against the Colonians."

"So, do you know the Elector and everything?" Kayla, one of my classmates, asks.

"Well, I met him back then, but I forgot meeting him, you know, amnesia and all of that." He puts his hands in his pockets.  "I ate dinner with him the other day though.  I think he appreciates what I did for him, but I don't think he's too thrilled that his ex-girlfriend has always liked me better than him."  He grins.

"John's mom told me a story about an Independence Day dinner we went to with him," he says.  "I didn't know which fork to use, you see…" he looks around.  "As a child, I lived in Lake, and we were nearly destitute.  When I was ten, I had to go live on the streets for five years.  I was lucky to _find_ food, let alone bother with which fancy fork I needed to use.  Anyway, somebody at the table asked me if they had silverware where I came from.  So I picked up a knife that was sitting on the table, like this," he takes a knife out of his waistband and appears to admire it, "and then I told them that the thing they called a 'butter knife' wasn't very practical.  Now, a knife like this, I told them, is very practical.  You can use it to smear butter, skewer meat, _and_ slit throats!"

He puts the knife away.  "Of course, I've never actually slit anybody's throat.  They didn't know that though."

Rex raises his hand.  "How do you know that you're John's dad if you had amnesia?"

My dad stares at him for a minute with a look that says _You have got to be kidding me_.  "How do you know that your dad is _your_ actual dad?  Just because _I_ had amnesia doesn't mean everybody around me had amnesia.  June, Tess, my brother, the doctor, none of _them_ had amnesia.  My brother didn't have a goddy clue about John’s mom being pregnant.  He was twelve.  Everybody else knew though; they didn't bother to tell me until I returned to the Republic this summer."

"Did you really rob a bank in ten seconds?" another kid asks.

"Yes.  But you shouldn't go robbing banks unless you have no other way to get food.  Plus, if you're not good at it, you'll go to jail.  Or get killed."

"Did you kill people?"

"Yes.  Colonians."

My dad answers a few more questions until his time is up.

At lunchtime, my dad sits next to me and Tanis, who brought his own dad with him.  Tanis’s dad is a lawyer.  Dad leans over.  "Think that turned out well?"

I grin at him.

"That one kid was about ready to wet his pants when I took out the knife."  My dad laughs.

"Probably," I say.  "He’s a coward.  Dad, can Tanis come to my house tomorrow?"

"Ask your mom," he says.  "It's not my apartment.  I don't think Eden would mind if you came to stay at our apartment, but you'd still have to ask your mom.  Maybe you should get Tanis's phone number and call him tonight about it."

Sometimes I forget that Dad doesn't live with us.  He's always over at my house, and he usually goes home after I go to bed.  Sometimes I go visit him and Eden at their apartment though, which is on the floor below mine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still trying to finish posting the rest of the story before Rebel releases. I better get to it, because it's coming up!
> 
> Thanks for reading. Comments are always appreciated.


	12. Temporarily Reassigned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something happens to John

**June**

I hate paperwork.  It's the least favorite part of my job.  I'd rather be out in the field with the troops, but when you're in charge of all the soldiers in your state, you have to deal with all the bureaucracy.

Fortunately, the workday is almost over.  There’s a small stack of paperwork I need to read and sign, and I need to make sure all the arrangements are made for the Independence Day military ball next Saturday, in Denver.  Daniel doesn't want to go, but unfortunately, attendance at these events is expected at my rank, and he promised he'd attend this event.  I'm sure there will be a lot of people there that have met him before that he won't remember, but hopefully they’ll understand the whole amnesia thing.

For his sake, I hope that he doesn't make a fool out of himself.  The last time we went to a formal ball together, which was also the Independence Day event, years ago, he embarrassed himself because he had the manners of a street urchin.  Not that I blame him.  He didn't grow up around wealth and formality like I had.

John will stay with Eden for the weekend.  He stayed with Tess and Brian in the past, but Eden was eager to have him over.  John can sleep in Daniel's bed since he won't be using it.

It will be our first overnight trip together since he came back.  I'm a little nervous.  The last time we spent the night together, we ended up having unplanned sex, and that's how John was conceived.  Next weekend, we don't plan to do anything other than attend the ball, but if we end up doing more than that, at least there's very little chance that I'll end up getting pregnant again.  I wouldn't mind having another child someday, but not right now.

I receive an incoming call from John.  Strange.  He usually doesn't call me in the middle of the school day.  I glance at the computer’s clock.  School ended ten minutes ago.  He should be getting on the day care bus.

"What do you want from me!  Let go!" John says over his mic.

"I guess we should have expected you to fight back, you little brat!" a male voice says in the background.  "Get in here!"

I hear John struggling, and a door opens (sounds like a van or a truck).  I hear the car driving away.  John doesn't say anything to me, but he must have called so I could hear everything that’s going on.

My heart races.  This can't be happening.  Was John kidnapped?  I tell myself there must be another explanation, but it sounds like a kidnapping.  My son wouldn't play an elaborate prank on me like this, would he?

"John," I say, "I know you can't say anything to me without tipping off whoever has you.  I'll continue to listen to you.  We will find you.  Don't worry, they can't hear anything I say."  My hands grip the edge of my desk so hard my knuckles are white.  "Good thinking, calling me like that."

I turn off my computer.  The paperwork can wait.  I need to see Daniel.  The intelligence office is in the same building as mine, so I can walk.  I need to keep John's call up to listen for clues, so Daniel will need to make any phone calls.

It takes one minute and forty-five seconds to get to Daniel's office.  He's reviewing some crime footage on his laptop.  He looks up when I open the door.

"You've been temporarily reassigned," I tell him.  "There’s a much more important case for you to work on."

He must see the panicked look on my face.  "What's wrong, boss?"

"John.  I think he's been kidnapped.  He was smart enough to call me, but he can't say anything without tipping off his captors.  I'm keeping his line open for clues."

His face pales, and he looks like he just swallowed a lemon.  "How’d this happen?  Do you know who might have taken him?  Or why?"

I shake my head.  "No clues to that yet.  I think he's in a van or a truck.  That’s all I know so far.  I don't know if it was random or maybe politically motivated."  I furrow my brows for a moment.  "One of the guys said something about how they should have expected him to fight back, so it's possible their motive is related to who we are."

"Have you contacted anybody else yet?"

I shake my head.  "Not yet.  With John on the line, I can't make any calls."

"I'll let my supervisor know what's going on.  Then I'll contact the school so we can detain any witnesses so we can interview them.  We can watch the surveillance videos to see if we can find any clues.  I guess we’ll go from there."

Daniel calls Captain Morales to let him know what is going on and that we'll be out of the office, then calls the school.  Afterwards, we walk to the garage and get into my car.

"Any updates?" Daniel points to his ear.  He must wonder if I've heard anything over my mic.

"Not yet.  It sounds like the car is still driving somewhere."

Ms. Trent, the school superintendent, greets us at the door.  "I'm so sorry about what happened."  She wrings her hands.  "I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary during the school day."

"You probably couldn’t have done anything about it," Daniel says.  "Did anybody sign into the office today that you didn't know before?"

"No.  A few parents came to visit today, but it's been mostly quiet today."

"Mr. Iparis was supposed to go to his after school day care program.  Is there a pick-up area for busses and parents?"

"Yes, there is an area for private vehicles to pick up their children after school."

"Are there surveillance videos for that area?  We’d like to see them."

"Yes, sir."

We follow her into a smaller office, where she types a few keys to bring up the surveillance videos.

On the monitor, kids walk to the curb and parents pick them up.  John's familiar light brown hair appears as he walks to the curb.  My heart drops when I see a red van with no windows pull up.  A man wearing sunglasses and a blue suit gets out of the van and grabs him from behind.  John tries to elbow him in the gut, but the man is too strong for him.  The man tosses him in the van and gets back into the passenger seat.  It speeds away.  The entire interaction took less than thirty seconds.

As I watch this video, the van in my call with John stops.  They open the door.  I hear him try to escape, but they catch him.

“Let me go!” he yells.  His voice becomes muffled, like they put something over his head.  They're taking him somewhere else.

"So now we know we’re looking for a red van," I say.  "It just stopped though.  He won't be there anymore.  But it gives us a place to start."

I’m going to find him, even if I have to tear apart the entire Republic to do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments are always appreciated!


	13. Taken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John tries to be smart after he's kidnapped.

**John**

When the man grabbed me after school, my first thought was panic.  I needed to get away.  I tried kicking and punching him, but he was too strong.  He laughed at my efforts.

My second thought was to call Mom.  I did it without being detected.  Even though I couldn't say anything, she's smart; she'll be able to figure out what's happening.

He shoved me into a van without windows in the back.  I tried to open the door, but the doors must have those childproof locks that can't be opened except from the outside.

 _Think_.

I need to stay alive.  When the Republic left my dad for dead at my age, isn't that what he did?  Mom and Dad will look for me.  Mom told me over my mic that she's listening to me.  I need to help them find me.  Wherever I end up going.

I have my backpack with me.  The bad men that took me are sitting in the front of the van whispering; I don't think they're watching me right now.  When I get out of the van, they might take my backpack away from me, but they're unlikely to empty my pockets.

I search through my backpack, trying to find anything that might be useful.  What can I put in my pockets?  The backpack is full of school books that won’t fit in my pocket.  Rifling through my binder, I find a pen and a couple paperclips.  Those might be useful.  I put them in my pocket and add a sheet of paper.  Maybe I can use these things to leave clues.  There’s a half-finished math assignment with my name in the corner.  Maybe if I tear off the corner of the assignment, with my name on it, and slip it under the floor mat, with a little piece sticking out, someone will find it at some point.  Then they’ll know I was there.

I try to listen for clues to where I am, but it sounds like normal Los Angeles traffic.  I can hear my mom talking to my dad over my mic.  They're already searching for me.

At some point, the bad men will open the door.  When they do, I should try to run.  I don't know if I'll be able to get away, but I have to at least try.  I don't know who these people are or what they want, but I they might know who I am.  When they first grabbed me, the man said he should have expected me to fight back.  I suppose that all kids would want to fight back (or maybe they wouldn’t; I don't know), but the way he said that makes me think they know who my parents are.  My parents would fight back.  I can be strong like they are.

After a while, the van slows down for a second, then keeps on driving slowly.  I'm sure that means something, but I have no idea what.  Maybe it means they’ll stop soon.  I put my backpack on.  If they stop, I want to get out of here.

The van makes several turns and then stops.  When the door opens, I jump out to run, but the man from earlier grabs me by my backpack.  He forces something over my head and carries me over his shoulder for maybe about twenty feet, then I’m carried up some steps.  His boots make a metallic sound as he climbs.

Over my earpiece, I my mom comments that I won't be in the red van that they saw me get into earlier.  They're still listening to me.  They heard it stop.

"Not going to be that easy to escape, John."  The man chuckles.  I guess that confirms they were targeting me, and not just some random kid standing outside the school.

"What do you want from me?" I spit.

"I don't want anything from you," he says.  He drops me onto a hard metal floor.  He ties my hands behind my back with cheap plastic handcuffs.  "You're worth money to me, that's all."

I must be in another vehicle, because I hear the engine start.  After several minutes, it starts rolling.  It rolls slowly at first, then accelerates.  My stomach drops; it feels like it's lifting off the ground.  This must be an airplane, or something like it.

I've never been in an airplane before.  I've never had a reason to go anywhere outside of Los Angeles.  If my dad had known about me, I might have flown to Antarctica occasionally, but he didn't.  Great.  I get to take my first flight with a bag over my head and my hands tied behind my back.

Airplanes travel fast.  I don't know how far this plane is going to travel, but chances are, when I land, I won't be in Los Angeles anymore.  I don't know where I'll be.  When we land, will I still be on a call with my mom, or we be too far away for that?  Even if I can escape, will I be able to find my way home?

I shiver, but not from cold.  I want my mom and my dad.  Tears well up in the corner of my eyes, dampening the scratchy bag over my head.  It’s hard to breathe.  I’m scared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm making an effort to get this completely out before Rebel. I only have 14 more chapters to post and more than a month to do it in, so hopefully.
> 
> I've been working on Saving Adelinetta lately (a Young Elites fanfic from Magiano's POV). I hadn't touched it since January. I still have about the last third to write, and it needs a lot of editing, but that'll probably be the next fanfic I post. When I'm done, it'll probably be the longest book I've ever written (up to now). It's currently almost 70,000 words.
> 
> Comments are always welcome. Thanks for reading!


	14. National Security

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The incident from last chapter might be a matter of national security.

**June**

"Replay the video," I say.  "Let’s see if we can get a license plate."

Daniel backs the video up a few frames until the rear of the van pops into view.  He zooms in on the license plate.  It's a Republic plate, XVRP 737.

"We'll put an alert out for that van," Daniel says.  "John may have gone somewhere else, but if we can find the vehicle, then it might give us some clues about where he went from there."

John is talking to his kidnapper.  I carefully listen to their interaction.

"They're taking him somewhere else," I say.  "It sounds like someone hired his kidnapper.  He called John by name.  This wasn’t a random crime."

"Should we put this on the Jumbotrons?" John asks.  "Or will it set back our case?"

"We don't want them discovering that we're listening to them," I say, "but by now we can be safe in publishing that we know he's missing.  He never boarded the bus to day care; the surveillance video is right here.  Publish the license plate of the car, that John's been kidnapped, and that there's a 100,000 note reward for his safe return.  Don't publish that we know he was specifically targeted or that the kidnapper was hired."

Daniel nods.  He takes out his tablet and sends out the order to publish John's information on the Jumbotrons.  He rests with his elbows on the desk and his head in his hands.

I put my hand on his shoulder.  This is the last thing I wanted to be doing this afternoon.

We walk to the pick-up area and check the area for nonexistent clues.

After we’re done at the school, we drive back to my place.  Daniel paces across the room.

“I’m going to go insane waiting,” he says.

“Calm down,” I say.  “That won’t help anything.  Why don’t you call our friends and update them?  I’m sure they’d rather hear about John from you than see it on the Jumbotron.”

“You’re right.  I’ll call Eden and Tess.”  He continues to pace as he talks to them, which is about as irritating as a fly buzzing in my ear, but I try to ignore it.

We continue to search for any leads regarding our son’s location, but come up with nothing.  My earpiece is silent except for the sound of a vehicle and movement for the next several hours.  I don't even hear any traffic.  Three hours twenty-five minutes, and forty-seven seconds after John is put into the second vehicle, our connection cuts off.

"What?" Daniel asks, looking over at me.  He must have noticed the alarmed expression on my face.

"Our line was just cut off."

"Damn!"

"It could mean one of several things: something could have happened to him.  I didn't hear any struggle, so it's probably not that.  It could mean they discovered him, but that's also unlikely, because they would have said something.  It could mean the signal is being jammed from his location.  Or, it could mean he went out of range of the communications system."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning they took him out of the Republic.  Or they took him to Northern California where the communications don't reach."

Daniel frowns.

Outside the window, the lights come on in the city.  We're both exhausted, and we still don’t have any solid information.

"We need to rest," I say.  "All of our investigators are working on this case.  Something will come up.  At some point, we'll need to move, and we can't be exhausted when we do.  Go pack a bag, come back, and stay here.  If we're both together, once something happens, we can be out of here in two minutes."

Daniel nods.  He comes back in five minutes and forty-four seconds, wearing a new outfit and holding a duffel bag.

"I don't think I'll be able to rest," he says.

"Me either," I say.  "But we need to try."

We lay down on my bed, on top of the covers.  Daniel puts his arm around my waist and I rest my head on his shoulder.  Somehow, we'll get through this.  We'll get John back.

 

I wake to a buzzing in my head.  "Hello," I answer groggily.   The fog is slowly lifting from my sleep-addled mind.

"June."  It's the Elector.  "I'm sorry about your son."  He sounds like he wants to say more.

"You woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me that?"  I look at the clock.  It's two in the morning.

"No.  I called because… John's kidnapping has been classified as a national security issue.  Because of his parentage, we fear that there may be some bad state actors involved."

"It's apparent John wasn’t a random target."

"You and Daniel need to get to Denver as soon as possible."

"We can be outside our apartment building in two minutes if you have a car here to pick us up."  I shake Daniel awake.  "Wake up.  We're going to Denver."

"Hmm."  Anden doesn't say anything more about Daniel being right with me while I’m sleeping, but I can hear irritation in his voice.  Even though I dated Anden for a few years, Daniel and I always had something that Anden and I never did.

Daniel's eyes flutter open.  "I'll grab my bag," he says.

"A car is already on its way," Anden says.

"There's a possibility that they’ve taken John to the Colonies," I say.  "If he’s there, Daniel and I will need disguises.  He _is_ one of the reasons why they didn't win the war, after all."  I sit up in the bed and put on my shoes.  Next to me, Daniel is doing the same thing.

"Yes, you’ll be well-disguised if you need to head into the Colonies.  It wouldn't do to have two of the Republic's most prominent citizens killed due to carelessness."

We grab our jackets on our way to the elevator.  "We'll see you when we get there," I say.

I end the call as we reach the elevators.  Daniel puts his hand on my cheek.  "You look stressed."

My hands are shaking.  "Well, obviously I am.  Our son is missing."  I know I sound angry, and I'm not angry at Daniel, but I can't help it.  The elevator opens on the ground floor.  "That was Anden."

"I see, it's the whole jealous ex-boyfriend thing you're thinking about."

I nod.  "He didn’t say anything about us being together, although he probably got the wrong impression of what went on last night…"

Our car pulls up to the curb.  A young lieutenant opens the door for us.  "I'm Lieutenant Ullrich," he says.  "I'm here to take you to the air strip."

"Thank you."  We both climb into the back seat of the car.

"June, why does it matter what he thinks happened last night?  You're free to make your own decisions."

"I know it shouldn't, Daniel," I lean my head against his shoulder.  "We're friends though.  He's jealous."

"It's something he'll have to get over, June."  He kisses my forehead.  "Whatever he thinks happened, is likely to happen, yeah?"  He takes my hand.  "Probably not while we're still looking for John…" he looks at me.  "You know I don't remember anything about that night, right?"

I nod.

"Even though part of me might want to drown myself in your comfort, I really don't want my first memory of us together to be associated with… this whole situation."  He kisses my neck.  "But we _are_  going to find him."

"I know we will."  My arms wrap around him, and I feel myself blush a little.  "I did see the doctor about a month ago, just in case anything happens," I add.  "I don't think either of us want another child yet."

He holds my right hand out and looks at my paperclip ring.  "No, not yet.  Maybe someday.  If we get married."

The thought of marrying Daniel one day is appealing.  I love him.  I hadn't thought that far ahead into the future, yet, but that seems to be the direction we're headed in.

The car pulls into the air base and Lieutenant Ullrich parks in front of a small aircraft, which is already warming up.  "We're here, Commander, Agent Wing."  We get out of the car.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a flash of red.  I look in its direction.

"That's it!" I exclaim.  It's a red van.  I double check the license plate.  XVRP 737.  "John was here."

As I board the plane, I frantically start making calls.  I call my assistant and order surveillance video brought up for the air strip.  I tell him that as soon as they find out what plane John boarded, they need to find its location, or at least find out where that plane went after it left our air base.  All planes have a tracking beacon that’s identifiable in any country that they fly into.  Even if they took John to the Colonies, we'll still be able to track the plane, and find out where he went.

Daniel puts his hand on my arm.  "We'll find him."

I give him a weak smile.  "I know."

The plane’s cabin contains a few couches and a small kitchenette.  A young lady with blonde hair styled into a bun comes to the main quarters from the cockpit.  "I'm Lieutenant Robbins.  I hope everything will be okay for your flight, Commander Iparis, Agent Wing.  The flight will take a few hours.  I know that we must have interrupted your sleep to get you over here.  If you need any more rest, the couches fold out into beds."  She smiles at us.  If you need me for anything, just press any of the buttons to call the flight attendant."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Daniel replies.

"I'll need you to put on a seat belt for takeoff, but once we're in the air, you can relax," she adds.

I finish my calls as we put on our seat belts.  Daniel puts his hand on mine, but doesn't say anything.  We sit there like that as the plane speeds across the ground and lifts into the air.

"I love you, you know."  He pushes my hair behind my shoulder.

I don't doubt him.  The first time he told me he loved me was nineteen days after we met.  I didn't believe him then; I thought he was just saying that because he was kissing me, but he never took back those words.

"Daniel… I don't think I ever stopped loving you."  Anden wouldn’t ever want to hear that, but it's true.  For years, I tried to convince myself that I was over Day.  I might have even believed it myself for a while.  That's probably why my relationship with the Elector ended up fizzling.

"I didn't want to say anything earlier," he adds, "because John… complicates things.  I wanted to make sure my feelings about you weren't just because of him.  They're not.  I'd feel this way about you whether or not we ever had a child together."

In the forward part of the plane, hanging from the ceiling, the fasten seatbelt sign goes out.  Daniel undoes his seat belt.  "We should get some rest," he says.  "I have a feeling we'll go to the Colonies shortly after we arrive in Denver.  It might be a long day."

We unfold one of the couches, turning it into a bed.  Daniel faces me as we lay down.  "Hopefully we'll have John back tomorrow," he says as he drifts off to sleep.

Lieutenant Robbins wakes us up.  I find myself lying on my back with Daniel lying on one of my legs; his arm is draped over my chest.  "Uhh, Commander, we need to get ready for landing."

Daniel looks over at me, embarrassed.  "I'm sorry," he whispers to me.

"It's okay," I whisper back.  It could have been worse, I'm sure.

We fold the bed back into a couch and put our seat belts on.  We'll be in the capitol in minutes.

 

At the capitol building, we’re immediately greeted by a tall man in a captain's uniform.  "Hello, I'm Captain Smith.  We have been waiting for your arrival."  He ushers us into the room and leaves.

Several very high-level governmental officials are sitting around a table, including Anden and Mariana Dupree, the Princeps.  There are two seats available, and Daniel and I sit in them.

"Now that we have all parties involved, we can begin," Anden begins.  "While you were on your flight, it was confirmed that the plane carrying Mr. Iparis landed in the Colonies late last night.  It landed at the air base in Salina."

I frown.  If his plane landed on a military base, it means someone in the Colonian military is involved.

"We were able to confirm the people involved in the abduction," General Rodriguez, whom I have met a few times before, adds.  "The pilot registered for the flight was Captain Max Papillion.  We received a tip from the photos posted on the Jumbotrons that the abductor who took John into the van was Master Sergeant Michael Hutchins." He looks around at everyone at the table.  "What is interesting about these two individuals is that they both used to work at the Las Vegas trial stadium."

"I believe they're working for someone else," I say.  "I heard… Master Sergeant Hutchins… say that John was worth money to him over my earpiece before John's mic cut off."

“We believe so too,” the Princeps says.  “Unless they have some sort of clout with the Colonies that we don't know about, they had to have been working with someone in the Colonian military; either a traitor to the Republic, or someone with a grievance.”

"Either way, our ambassador is undergoing talks with the Colonian government requesting their full cooperation," Anden says.  "This whole situation could turn into an international incident if it is not properly resolved."

"An international incident?" I ask, incredulous.

"Yes.  Due to your high profiles, as well as the fact that someone in the Colonian government is clearly involved, this is not your average abduction case.  I spoke to the Chancellor earlier this morning and informed him that I expect their government's full cooperation in resolving this.  Any of our citizens involved need to be extradited to the Republic upon their arrest, and full cooperation with regards to obtaining evidence.  I also informed them that they are not to interfere with any of our efforts to retrieve the boy."

"Meaning?" Daniel asks.

"We didn't go out and say it outright, but they are not to interfere with our covert operatives that we’re sending out into the field to retrieve him.  That is, you and June."

"In addition to the 100,000 notes that Commander Iparis has offered for John's safe return, the Republic has also offered up to 50,000 notes for any information that will lead to the capture and arrest of anyone involved in this incident," the Princeps adds.

"Now that everyone has been briefed, we need to get our covert agents out in the field," Anden says.  "You will have our full support out there."

When we leave the meeting, Captain Smith meets us again.  "I need to get your disguises ready," he says.  "You’ll be traveling as Mr. and Mrs. Darren and Jessica Song, who own a shipping company," he tells us.  "Even though you'll be wearing disguises, if we were to have a Daniel and a June traveling together, that might arouse suspicions.  We'll provide you with cash, but just in case, we have also linked up fake debit cards to your actual bank accounts.  Fortunately, the Republic does not share biometric identification with the Colonies, so we don't have to worry about hacking into that database."

He hands each of us a credit card with our fake name on it.

"We have tickets on a business class flight to Salina booked for three hours from now.  We have hair dye for you, Daniel, colored contacts, and fake glasses.  June, since your hair is dark, there is not a lot we can do to temporarily lighten your natural hair, so we have a wig for you.  If you keep your real hair in a tight braid close to your scalp, the wig will fit properly.  We'll take care of it for today, but once you're out in the field, you or Daniel will need to maintain it."

Daniel and I go to separate rooms to get our hair done.  A woman who introduces herself as Joanne braids my hair and pins it neatly to my head.  Over that, she places a strawberry blonde wig.  She gives me green contacts to put in.

"That looks good," Joanne says, giving me a thumbs-up.

Daniel comes back twenty-two minutes and thirteen seconds later with dark brown hair and glasses.  His eyes are now a light brown.

"I look a lot less conspicuous," Daniel says.

I arch my eyebrows.

"To anybody but you!"  He laughs.  "Normally my hair practically glows in the dark."

"I like your glow-in-the-dark hair," I wrap my arms around him.  "But you still look good this way too."

"It would take a lot for you to not look good," he says, kissing me on the forehead.

After that, they take our photos and we provide us with real IDs with our fake information on it.  Since the Republic is behind our IDs, everything would check out, even if the Colonies were to peek into the Republic's databases.

We are rushed into a car which takes us to the Denver commercial airport.  Until our return or the need for a different disguise arises, we are now Darren and Jessica Song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments are always welcome.


	15. Trapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John is trapped and needs to find a way to escape.

**John**

I'm stuck in a bare room with a bench, a blanket, and a toilet.  It looks like a prison from a TV show.  The room is dark, with a gray cement floor, white cement block walls, and metal bars on one side.  A dim light from somewhere down the hallway outside my cell allows me to see shadows in the room.  Otherwise I don't think I'd be able to see anything.

At least the guy that took me is leaving me alone.  The other guy who flew the plane never said a word to me.

The flight over here was awful.  My wrists chafed against the cuffs, I was starving, and they kept that bag over my head most of the time.  After a while, my bladder felt like it was about to burst, so they took off the bag and undid my wrist ties long enough to use the tiny airplane restroom.  I looked out the window for a second before they put the bag back over my head; we were flying over mountains.  After my small taste of visual freedom, they tied my hands up again.  When I complained about being hungry, they told me I had to wait until we landed.

I heard my mom for a while over my mic, but that eventually cuts off.  I don't know why.  It only works in places with cell service.  If they took me somewhere remote or out of the Republic, it wouldn't work.  Mom and Dad are looking for me, but I have no idea how they'll ever find me if I'm stuck in a jail cell somewhere.

Once they took me to the prison, they removed the bag and handcuffs.  Occasionally, they bring me food.  It's boring as snot in here.  My mom could tell how many hours, minutes, and seconds she's been in here, but I don't have that talent.  All I can do is tell how many times they've brought me food.  So far, they've brought me meals six times.  So I guess I've probably been here two days.  This room is windowless and always dimly lit, so the only way to measure time is by meals.

I drift off to sleep again.  There's not much else to do, other than count the tiles in the floor or think.  I try to make up stories in my head or imagine my kidnapper contracting the plague.  Imagining ways he’d suffer is my favorite way to pass the time.

When I wake up, they bring me another tray of food.  I think of my mom.  Maybe she's on the verge of finding me.  Maybe I'll see her today.  She's smart.  She observes the little details that most people overlook.

They never took the paper or pen out of my pocket.  I tear a small square of paper out, write "John Iparis was here" on the paper, and stick it behind the toilet.  Will I get in trouble for writing it?  Who knows?  I'm in a prison.  How much worse trouble can I get into?  When I’m done, I stuff the pen and paper back into my pocket.

After what seems like a few hours later, the man returns.  An older lady with graying black hair is with him.  She looks at me with disapproval.

The man opens the cell and cuffs my hands behind my back.  He holds onto me so I don't run away.  Not that there's any place to run.

I glare at the woman defiantly.

"Not very impressive," she says, squeezing the top of my arm.  "I would have expected more from them.  Who knows if he would have even passed the trials?"  She shrugs.  "Not that it matters.  Children have a strange appeal to their parents no matter what sort of potential — or lack thereof — they seem to exhibit."

They're talking about my parents.  I’m not sure why.  Maybe they're trying to use me to hurt them.

"Did you see the news?" the man asks, giving her a concerned look.

"Yes."  She scowls.  "No matter.  They won’t find us until we're ready for them.  Let's get him in the truck."

They stick a bag over my head again, walk me out of the prison, and shove me in the back of what must be a delivery van.  The truck rumbles, then I feel it move and make turns, and after about fifteen minutes, it stops.  They take me out of the truck and drag me into a new building.  I'm taken into an elevator, down a hall, and then into another room.  After a few more turns, they take me into another room, unlock my handcuffs and remove the bag from my head.

Then they leave me in the room.  The door locks with a click.

I look around.  I'm in a bedroom, which is empty except for a bare mattress and a bucket (I presume in case I have to use the bathroom). The walls are painted an off-white color and the hardwood floors shine. Despite the spartan conditions in the room, whoever owns this place is probably wealthy.  On one end of the room is a sliding glass door, locked with a padlock, which leads to a patio.  I'm in some city I don't recognize.

I look to a building across the street to gauge how high up I am.  By my estimation, I’m on the tenth floor.

I smile.  They may have underestimated me.

Although I've never climbed an apartment building this tall before, I have climbed onto the roof at my school.  If I could just get the patio door open, I could escape.

Those paperclips are still in my pocket.

The afternoon sun shines through the patio door, illuminating a rectangular patch on the floor in a white glow.  I pace the room and think.  My kidnappers probably didn’t plan on hanging around in this apartment guarding me all day.  Since I’m locked in from the outside, they’d think I'm trapped.  As I wait, I write my name on another scrap of paper and stick it under the mattress.

The apartment has been silent for a while.  I put my ear to the door and quiet myself, breathing slowly.  There’s either nobody here, or if there is, they’re not making any sound.  I straighten the paperclips and stick the end of one into the padlock.  Once I watched a video on the internet which showed people picking a lock.  I'm unsure about how to do this, but after fiddling with it for a few minutes, the lock springs open.  I slowly slide open the patio door.  It makes a quiet scraping sound in its track.

I look down.  I've never climbed this high up before, not even at a climbing wall at the gym, but climbing this building can't be much different from climbing my school.  It might even be easier since every floor is broken up by a patio.  I climb over the railing and begin to descend.  One floor, two floors, three floors.  As the ground approaches, my confidence increases.  Six floors, seven floors.  I have no idea where I am, but I'd rather be on my own in some strange city than stuck as a prisoner in some building with my kidnappers.  Nine floors, ten floors.  My feet touch the ground, and I let out a breath in relief..

I lean my back against the building and breathe heavily.  While I was descending, I didn't notice how much effort it took to get down, but now I feel exhausted.  Especially since I haven't eaten since breakfast.

"How’d you do that?" a voice to my left asks.

I turn towards the voice.  A dirty girl, about my age, maybe about a year or two younger, is watching me.  She has short black hair, brown eyes, and a large scab down the side of her face.

"Do what?" I ask.

"Climb that wall."  She looks around, as if she expects someone to be searching for her.  "Come on, you can't let anybody see you."  She grabs me by the elbow and pulls me into an alley.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

She studies me carefully.  "Do I know you?" she asks.  "I think I've seen you before."

"No, I don't know how you would have," I say, shaking my head.  "I'm not from around here."

"Where are you from?"

"That's not important."  I'm not about to tell this stranger who I am, even if she is a young girl.  My parents are enemies in the Colonies; that information might get me killed.

She nods.  "It's okay if you don't want to tell me.  I know how it is around here."

_Around where?_

"Come on, we can't stay in the rich sector too late.  You haven't been here very long, have you?"

"Uh, no.  I just got here."

"Running away from home?"

"Hmmm… something like that."

"I ran away from home too.  My name's Rosie."

"Nice to meet you, Rosie.  I'm John."  I offer to shake her hand.  She accepts, although I get the feeling she's not used to shaking hands.  I'm not sure she's comfortable with touching people at all.

She has parallel scratch marks in straight lines up and down her forearm.  I wonder what could have caused that.  Maybe this city is full of wild animals, or she used to live in the forest.

"So, first lesson for you, John.  Very important.  Looks like you got some skills, but if you're gonna steal from rich people like that, you need to make sure you get out of the area before you get caught.  DesCon patrols do a sweep of this area in the evening, so we need to leave before then, got it?"

I'm not sure what she means, but I nod anyway.  I've heard of DesCon before.  They have something to do with the Colonies.  I guess that confirms that that's where I am.  I don't want to ask Rosie where I am though, because then she might figure out I'm an enemy of the state.  Or at least that my family is.

 

We spend the next couple of hours walking to the other side of town.  I steal some food for dinner; Rosie shows me a crate of food on the other side of a fence which is easy to scale up and down.  She also shows me how to avoid the DesCon patrols.

As we walk, the buildings look more dilapidated and shabbier.  The building I climbed down appears similar to buildings in Ruby; the buildings here look even worse than the ones I saw in Lake sector, if that’s even possible.

"We can stay here tonight," Rosie tells me as we approach an abandoned, decrepit building.  "Nobody around here has money to pay DesCon patrols to protect them, so they don't bother to come here."  As if in confirmation, a rat scurries across the alley, almost running over my feet.

We go inside the building and climb up a stairway.  Rosie sits cross-legged on the floor and I sit next to her.  She opens a can of tamales and hands another can to me.

"I’m starving," I say.  "I haven't eaten anything since breakfast."

She scrunches her eyebrows as if I just said something ridiculous.  How stupid of me.  Who knows if Rosie has had anything to eat at all today?  I'm so used to having food on a regular schedule, I guess I take it for granted that there will always be a meal around.

"I — I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"That's okay.  I ate this morning too."  She eyes me up and down, inspecting me.  "You won't have any difficulty finding food though, not with your ability to climb like that.  I see you already found some nice clothes."  I look down.  These clothes were nice when I put them on Friday morning.  Now they feel dirty and disgusting, but I don't have anything else to wear.  From the looks of my new friend, she’s been wearing her clothes for longer than I have.

I shrug.  "Well, let's hope we continue to have good luck finding things to steal."

We eat our food in silence.  While cold canned tamales wouldn't normally be my first choice for dinner, they taste better than a feast of pepperoni pizza with ice cream sundaes for dessert when you're starving.

"So, what's your story?"  She licks her fingers after she finishes her dinner.  "You're not from around here, and you just ran away.  Any particular reason why you left?"

I look at my shoes.  They were clean on Friday; now they're dusty.  "I don't know, I think they wanted to kill me."

"Who?  Your parents?  That's rough."

I shake my head.  "No.  The people that took me.  My parents are looking for me."

"So you were kidnapped?"

I nod.  "They put me on a plane, then I was in a jail cell for a couple of days, and then they put me in the building that I escaped from."

She eyes me suspiciously.  "You didn't steal those clothes, did you?"

"No.  This is what I wore to school on Friday."

"So you're a rich kid."  It was a statement, not a question.  "I bet your parents offered a reward for your return."

I shrug.  "Yeah, I think my mom said something about it.  When they took me, I called her, but we lost our connection, so I don't know where she is or what she’s doing now."  I stare out the broken window.  "Not that it would do any good.  I can't turn myself in because they'd probably kill me."

"Who?"

"DesCon.  They’re not big fans of my parents."

"Why?"

"People think they're criminals here.  At least my dad."

"Oh.  I guess that complicates things."  She hugs her knees.  "So your parents are criminals.  They must be white-collar criminals at least, to have all that money to buy you nice clothes."

I stay quiet.  I've probably said too much already.

“My dad's a criminal too,” she says.  “He's a very bad man.”  She sighs and looks out the window.  “If I never see him again, it’ll be too soon.”

"I'm sorry," I say.  "Your dad sounds like a jerk." I don't know what to say.

Rosie yawns.  "Well, we better get some rest.  Another day of this tomorrow."

"Yeah."

After I lay on the hard floor, I think.  I think about mom and dad and wonder where they are.  Are they're thinking about me?  Do they miss me?  I start crying.  I try to be quiet, but unfortunately, I'm not silent.

Rosie puts her hand on my shoulder.  "It's okay.  They'll find you."  She sighs.  "Your story will end better than mine will, I suppose.  It always happens that way to you rich people."  I think I hear a touch of bitterness in her voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this. Thank you for reading. Comments are always welcome.


	16. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nobody can find John.

**Daniel**

"How are things in Salina, Darren?"

I sink into my hotel room’s leather couch as I talk to Lieutenant Jackson, my contact at the embassy here in Salina, over my burner phone.  "We haven't found anything yet.  Any leads on your end?"

"We talked to the Colonian government.  Unfortunately, they didn't notice anything out of the ordinary on that flight.  They don't keep video surveillance of the airfields on their military bases."

"How convenient."

"That's not uncommon though.  We don't record video of many of our bases either, especially in locations where we conduct top secret missions."

I sigh.  "Well, thanks for the update.  Hopefully we'll have better information tomorrow."

"Take care, Darren."

I hang up the phone.  Immediately after arriving in the Colonies, we stopped by a store to buy a cheap cell phone.  We use it instead of the hotel's phone in order to keep from blowing our cover.  We've been in the Colonies for a couple days now, scouring Salina for any signs of John.  So far, nobody’s seen a trace of him.

If it were up to me, I'd go to the air base and scour it for any traces of John I could find, but I can't go anywhere here as Day, and businessman Darren Song has no reason to go to an air base.  So I let people that aren’t undercover do that work, and I wait while someone else investigates the woman driving onto the base with John's captor.

News of John's kidnapping made the news media all the way over here, which surprises me.  His picture, along with the offer of 100,000 notes for his safe return, regularly appears on news reports on the television screens displayed in the shop windows.

Being in the Colonies feels a little like deja vu.  My dad used to say it was a land of opportunity and always praised it; June told me about our experience visiting the Colonies before my amnesia and told me it wasn't anything like the glittering dreams he fed me as a child.

Although I've been here before, it feels like I’m experiencing it for the first time.  There are advertisements everywhere, and it’s disorienting.  When I talk to people, it usually ends in a sales pitch for whatever corporation they happen to work for.  Posing as a businessman, the people I talk to all try to sell something or give me their business card, promising that our businesses would both profit if we partnered together.

Posing as June’s husband, our hotel arrangement is a challenge.  At night, I want to reach out and touch her.  Spending all day with her as we search for clues to John's whereabouts only deepens my feelings about how amazing she truly is.  This morning when we woke up, I found that during my sleep, I had reached my hand under her nightshirt.  I apologized, and she laughed (I doubt that she minded) but every day I’m drawn to her more and more.

June and I spend Monday afternoon wandering the streets of Salina, trying to get a feel for the place and seeing if I can find any trace of the people that were involved in John's capture.  We mostly walk through the nicer neighborhoods, but in the late afternoon, we find ourselves in shabbier surroundings.

A man with tan skin and dark brown hair approaches us, wearing a cotton uniform with the words Street Proctor sewn on his sleeve.  "Corp?" he asks.

I stare at him for a moment, confused.

"We're from the Republic," June says.  She seems to be familiar with this procedure.  "We're here on business."

He nods and makes a note on his tablet.  "I need to see your identification then."

We take out our wallets and hand him our information.  He examines them carefully.  "Hmph," he says.   He frowns as he hands them back.  "I would like to give you a heads up, there has been a bit of political tension between the Colonies and the Republic in the past few days over that boy that got kidnapped."

"Really?"  I raise my eyebrows.  Maybe this guy has information I can use.

"Yeah, the Republic thinks the Colonian government might have been involved, since his parents are big shots over there.  I think that Day guy is his father."  He spits on the ground.  "I'd like to choke him if I ever see him.  If it wasn't for him, the Colonies would have won the war."

_This guy wouldn't have a chance at winning if we fought_ , I think.  He looks like one of those bureaucrats who hasn't worked out a day in his life.

"He's fairly popular in the Republic," June says, lightly grabbing my arm.  She must sense my agitation.

"Of course the Republic would like him.  I feel sorry for the kid… it's not his fault he got kidnapped, but I'd punch Day's face in if I ever had the chance."  He laughs.  "I wouldn't turn down that 100,000 note reward that’s out for the boy's safe return though.  Republic notes aren't worth as much here than in the Republic, but that's still a lot of money." He nods.  "Well, ma'am, sir, I just wanted to let you know, because if fighting resumes over all this mess, it won't be safe here."

"I've done enough travelling abroad to know to keep in touch with the embassy in times of crisis," I say.  "We'll be sure to remain informed and be aware of any travel warnings."

"That's good to hear."  He looks around.  "You may also want to stick to nicer parts of town, especially as evening approaches.  We have our fair share of street cons around here, and a lot of people in the poorer sections of town don't pay for police protection."

"I'll keep that in mind," I say drily.

He straightens his posture.  "I'm sponsored by Cloud Corp.  Try our new chicken tenders, available at any grocery store in the city!"  As he gives his spiel, it's almost as if he turns into a different person.  He glances at us once more, then moves on.

 

After dinner, we return to the hotel and use our burner phone to call our contact at the embassy, Lieutenant Jackson.  "Any news?" I ask.

"Sergeant Hutchins came back to the air base today.  He was with a woman."

"Who was he with, and why wasn't he arrested?"  I feel my jaw clench.

"You know government red tape.  The alert to find him didn't filter to the people on the ground until this afternoon," Lieutenant Jackson says.  "We're still trying to find the woman’s identity."

I frown, irritated.  If Sergeant Hutchins had been arrested today, he could have been questioned, and we'd be that much closer to finding John.  "Do you have a picture of her you can send me?"

"Sure. I'll text it to your phone."

"I look forward to seeing it."

"Any luck from your end?"

"No, but it seems that if people did see John, they'd be happy to turn him in.  I talked to some government employee — well, I think he works for the government — and he mentioned John and the 100,000 note reward."

"We'll keep you posted if we find anything else out."

We sign off.  I realize I've been pacing the room, and stop to turn to June.  "Nothing yet."

She frowns.

"They could have made an arrest today, but the incompetent Colonians allowed him to escape.  Sergeant Hutchins was with some woman, but they're still trying to figure out who she is."

June closes her eyes.  She looks exhausted.  A tear escapes from her left eye.  I hope that our search for John doesn't last much longer; the stress is eating her from the inside.

I wipe the tear from her eye before sitting behind her on the bed and taking off her wig.  I remove the bobby pins from her hair and unwind the braid that's pinned to her scalp.  It’s soft beneath my fingers.  The dark hair curls around her shoulders.

I kiss her neck.  "We can't give up hope," I say.  "We'll find him."

 

The next morning we walk through the city again, trying to find clues to the identity of either of John's captors.  Who knows?  They might have already left Salina.  They could have taken him out of the city in the trunk of a car.  If I thought the government was about to arrest me for kidnapping, that's exactly what I’d do.

After lunch, I get a text from the embassy on our burner phone.

**Call me as soon as you possibly can.  - Jackson**

"Back to the hotel," I tell June, showing her the phone.  We can't talk out in the open.  We're only a few blocks away, so we walk.

"What's going on?" I say to Lieutenant Jackson after dialing his number.

"I have good news and bad news."

"Go on…"

"The good news is that we found out who that woman is.  She's Emma Harrison.  She used to run the Las Vegas trial stadium.  Shortly after the trials shut down, she disappeared.  It looks like she defected to the Colonies."

"And the bad news?"  June's eyebrows raise as she hears me say that.  She wouldn't want bad news any more than I do.

"We did some more digging this morning and found that Emma has an apartment here in Salina.  When we sent our investigators there, we found a bare room with a mattress in it… and found a scrap of paper that said 'John was here' tucked underneath it."

"And that's bad news because?"

"It looks like they locked him in.  There was a padlock on the floor by the patio door.  It had two paperclips poking out of it, as if someone picked it open.  It looks like John escaped."

"So we think he's out in Salina somewhere?"

"The apartment was on the tenth story."

My heart sinks.  I hope he's not hurt.  "We'll check the hospitals then.  They didn't find him in the area, did they?"

"No.  There's a small chance he’s unharmed but lost.  We're still looking for Ms. Harrison; when we find her, maybe we'll get a better idea of what happened."

"Got it.  Thanks for the update."

After I hang up, I look at June.  Her eyes are wide.  "They found where John was, but he's not there anymore."

"Where is he now?"

"Nobody knows.  It looks like he escaped from the apartment they were keeping him in.  On the tenth floor."

"You don't think he could have --?"

I shrug.  "He climbed up to the school rooftop before, and he does have our genes.  Still, we probably should check the hospitals to make sure he didn't fall and end up there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	17. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John finds Daniel and June.

**John**

"See her?  The woman with the armband?"  Rosie keeps her voice quiet as she points to a thin brunette standing on the sidewalk.  "That's a Street Proctor.  It's their job to make sure everybody gets to work on time.  Since neither of us have jobs, we need to stay away from them."

"What's that thing in her hand?"  She's holding a small black tablet that looks like one of my parents' phones.

"All the adults around here get RFID tags on their sixteenth birthday.  That's when they're allowed to start working.  Her tablet tracks everybody's location.  If you're not at work when you're supposed to be, the corps dock your pay."

"Everybody here is so focused on money.  It's disgusting."

Rosie looks at me with concern.  "I don't know how things work in The Republic, but if you come from a rich family around here, you don't need to worry about money either.  You probably never had to deal with it because your parents are loaded."

I look down, ashamed.  I think about how my dad so casually told me I could spend a thousand notes on video games a couple months ago.  How he handed the man in Lake District a thousand notes like it was nothing.  No, my parents didn't worry about money, although I know now that my dad once did.

After the Street Proctor disappears from view, Rosie grabs my arm.  "Come on.  Let's find something to eat."

The past several days have followed a similar routine.  Rosie and I traversed Salina several times looking for food.  She's taught me tricks to avoid the police, and I've learned new techniques for stealing food undetected.  This isn't the life my parents planned for me, but I’m surviving at least.

Someday, I'm sure, I'll find my parents, if I don't get caught by the Colonial police first.  I just don't know when or how.  Maybe I'll find a way to access the internet and send them an email.  Or I'll escape the Colonies and get a Republican soldier to help me.  Perhaps I'll find the nearest Republican embassy and they'd help me.

I don't know.

Last night, Rosie and I were hanging out in the second story of an abandoned building.  There are plenty of them around here.  An elderly couple walked by.  They were hunched over, as if years of hard labor had warped their bodies.  The man had a wooden leg.

"Did you see the news on the Jumbotrons, Mabel?" the old man asked.

Mabel shook her head.  "No, what'd you hear?"  Their voices verged on shouting, as older people’s voices sometimes do when they're hard of hearing.

"We might go back to war with The Republic."

"Really, Jaxon?  That's the last thing The Colonies need."

"I know.  I hate politicians.  They always think they know better than us, then they screw everything up."

"Shhh.  You don't want anybody hearing you."

"Nobody lives around here anymore anyway.  There’s only the ghosts around here to listen to us."

They continued talking as I watched them walk away.

I didn't hear why there might be war.  Just a week ago, when I was still in the Republic attending the first week of school, our two countries were at peace.  What happened in the last week that could cause our countries to fight again?

"You ready for a challenge today?" Rosie was nibbling on a piece of bread we stole from the back of a delivery truck last night.

"Sure."

"So, I was thinking we could steal a wallet or something from one of those rich people.  The hardest part is not getting caught."

"If it were that easy, wouldn't everybody do it?"

Rosie shrugs.  "I guess so.  This technique works best on distracted people.  So I guess that should be our mission today."

"Okay, distracted.  Got it."

We walk to the rich sector, which takes a while, since it's not safe for us to sleep there.  When we arrive, I feel out of place.  It's been a week since I've been able to take a shower or change my clothes.  I feel dirty and out of place, while a week ago, I would have felt completely at home.

We pass several people on the streets wearing nice suits.  They sneer at us with disdain, like we're here to cause trouble or something.  Which we are, in a way.  I don't want to cause trouble though.  I just want to eat tonight.  My belly rumbles in response to that thought.

I spot a couple sitting on a bench.  They're crying.  Rosie pokes me in the ribs and then pulls me into the nearest alleyway.  We watch them from our location.

"See those two?" she whispers.

"Yeah.  They look distracted."

She nods.  "See how that lady's purse hangs over the side of the bench?"

"Yeah."  I examine them more closely.  "They're crying."  The man’s arm is draped around the woman.  They're comforting each other about something.

"They're not crying because they don't have money, I can promise you that."  Rosie rolled her eyes.  "See if you can grab that lady's wallet without her noticing.  Worst-case scenario, you can climb over that wall and escape."

"Okay," I nod.

I walk out of the alleyway, taking note of my surroundings.  There isn't anybody else on the street as far as I can see.  No witnesses.  I slow my breathing and creep up behind them, quietly as a whisper.

"We can't give up," the man's voice says.  There’s something familiar about it.

I look down at the woman’s purse.  I look at the man's hand around the woman's shoulder.  On his right ring finger is a paperclip ring.  Not just _any_ paperclip ring, although as far as I know, it's only a tradition that people in Lake sector follow.  I recognize _this_ particular paperclip ring.

It doesn't make sense.  The man has my dad’s ring on, but his hair is dark brown.  The woman has blonde hair, although it's not as light as my dad's normal hair.

"Dad?" I ask, tentatively.

He turns and looks at me.  Even though the man is wearing glasses, I know it's him.  For some reason, he’s hiding his true identity.  His eyes widen with recognition, and he smiles.

"John!" he exclaims.  My mom turns around too.  "You're okay!"  He leaps over the bench and hugs me.  I don't think I've seen him this happy since I met him.

"Why are you --?"  I look at his hair.

My dad shakes his head, warning me not to say anything.  I guess he doesn't want anybody to know who he is.  Since he’s a wanted criminal in this country, I don't blame him.

"I wouldn't have recognized you if it wasn't for your ring."  Relief floods my senses, and I almost forget everything that happened, for a moment.  Then I remember my friend.  "I need you to meet someone," I turn towards the alleyway.  Rosie is hiding behind a dumpster.  "It's okay," I whisper to her.  I tug on her hand, taking her into the sunlight.  "This is my friend, Rosie."

She silently looks between my parents.  "Did you help my son?" my dad asks.

She looks around and bites her lip.  Reluctantly, she nods.

"I guess we owe you a 100,000 note reward," my mom says.

Rosie's eyes widen.  "100,000 notes?"

"That was the posted reward for bringing my son back safely to me," Mom says.

"I knew you had money John, but _damn_ ," she says to me.  "That's more money than my dad ever made in a year."

My dad sobers a little.  "Where is your family?" he asks.

"Dad, she doesn't have one," I say.  "Her dad was abusive, and she ran away."

He nods, then looks at my friend.  "You know I just can't hand you 100,000 notes if you're living on the streets.  It might get lost or stolen, or your dad might find you and get his hands on the money.  This story will be on the news.  The Republic and the Colonies have threatened to go to war with each other over this incident."

Rosie looks downcast.  Maybe she thinks she won’t get the money after all.  I wonder why the Republic and the Colonies would threaten to go to war over some kid getting kidnapped.

"No worries though," my dad adds.  "We'll put the money into a trust so you'll have access to it when you're older.  In the meantime, we need to figure out what to do with you now."  He looks her up and down, as if inspecting her.  "You don't have a home, do you?"

Rosie shakes her head.

"That's what I thought.  If you want, you could stay with us until we figure something else out.  Would that be okay?"

She stares at my dad.

"We'd have to get permission from the Colonies because tensions are high between our two nations as it is and we don’t want to make things worse, but I know people who can push that through," he says.  "You don't have to come with us if you don't want to."

She looks scared.  We look at her expectantly.

"I think I do," she says.

I smile.

Mom looks at both of us.  "First things first.  You both need new clothes.  Food.  And a bath."  She focuses on me with the word _bath_.  "I don't know which one we should do first."

"Food!" I say.

"Okay, let's go to the hotel, and we’ll order room service while you take showers.  Tonight we'll go somewhere nice to celebrate, after you get new clothes."

As we follow my parents to the hotel, Rosie looks shriveled with apprehension.  I grab her hand in reassurance.  "It'll be okay," I tell her.

At the entrance to the hotel, a doorman in a red uniform with polished buttons greets us.  "Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Song," he tells my parents.  Must have something to do with their disguise.  "Who are these two?"  The doorman eyes us as if we were rodents.

"These are my guests," my dad tells him.  "Orphans.  It's part of a publicity campaign.  I assure you, they'll be on their best behavior."

The doorman nods, and we walk to the elevator.  They're staying on the top floor.  Even though I've seen nice places before in my life, after a week living on the streets, I can't help but gawk.  The floor is covered with plush red carpet, all the doorknobs and metallic fixtures sparkle, and rare paintings line the hallway.  Our suite is just as luxurious.  There is a living area with two leather couches, a television, and a writing desk.  Fresh flowers adorn the coffee table and more paintings decorate the walls.  A second room reveals a large bed with sheets that look soft and inviting, and behind the bathroom door, the metal fixtures gleam.

"Nice place, Dad," I exclaim.

"Well, we're here 'on business'," my dad says, using air quotes when he says "on business."  "Of course, our business here was to find you."

"Why don't you take a shower first, Rosie," my mom says.  "Do you like pizza?"

Rosie nods.

"Okay, pizza it is," Mom says.  "I'm sorry we don't have any clean clothes for you to change into, but we'll take care of that after you two both eat."

After I get out of my shower, I notice that Mom has brushed Rosie's hair.  She's cute when she's clean and her hair isn't tangled in knots.  Her cleaner appearance makes the scratches along the left side of her face stand out.  Rosie's nibbling on a slice of pepperoni and sausage pizza.  I grab a slice of pizza and sit on a couch.  I don't think I've ever tasted food this delicious in my entire life.

 

After we eat lunch, my parents take us shopping.  I get pants, shirts, underwear, socks, pajamas, even a new pair of shoes and a swimsuit.  They also buy suitcases to put our clothes into.  They get Rosie more clothes than they get me; she doesn't have a closet full of clothes at home like I do.

We change into a nice outfit and we go to an upscale restaurant for dinner.  Rosie doesn't know what all the forks are for, but my mom shows her patiently.  From the confused look on hr face, I think she's overwhelmed.

After dinner, we return to the hotel, and Rosie and I go into the bathroom to change into our pajamas (not at the same time, of course).  Dad makes a phone call with a strange looking phone.  I lay on one of the couches and Rosie lies down on the other, but sleep eludes me.

"Lieutenant Jackson," my dad says.  "Any news?"

He pauses.  I don't know if I should be listening, but I do anyway.

"So no arrests yet?  Well, I have good news on my end.  We found him.  Or rather, he found us."

Another pause.

"Yes, you'll definitely want to let the ambassador know.  And the elector.  But we can't let the media know, at least not until we're at the embassy."

Dad nods.  Like the guy on the other end of the phone will see that.

"Look, there's been a… complication.  We might need to stay in the Colonies for a little longer than we planned.  I'll tell you about it tomorrow.  We'll need a three-bedroom apartment at the embassy, if you can get one for us."

Another pause.  "No, we didn't have a fight, but when we go to the embassy tomorrow, you'll see why we need it."

Dad stands up and paces across the room.  "No, I haven't talked to him about that yet.  Kid hadn't eaten much in days and needed new clothes.  There will be plenty of time to talk to him about that at the embassy tomorrow."

He nods again.  "Yeah, we'll catch her.  I hope the chancellor understands he still needs to be cooperative on this.  We need to get Hutchins and Papillion extradited, and Harrison will also have to be prosecuted."

Dad sits on the bed next to my mom, who is taking off her wig.  Dad starts to undo the braid under her wig.  "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow.  Bye."

I start drifting off to sleep.

"Are we really going to the embassy?" I hear Rosie whisper.

"Sounds like it."  I shrug.

I hear my dad and mom kissing each other.  Then I fall asleep.

 

The next morning, my mom gets up early, puts on her wig, and goes somewhere.  My dad takes a shower.  I sit up and look around, blinking the sleep from my eyes.  It looks like Rosie just woke up too.

"Ugh, I'm so glad your parents didn't start banging each other last night," Rosie says, turning towards me on her couch.

My cheeks turn red.  "Why would they, in front of us?"  I ask.  "They were just kissing.  Besides, I don't think they --" I say.

"You are _so_ naïve, my friend," she says.  "How do you think you got here?  Your dad and mom are _totally_ into each other.  Probably literally."

"Well, I know how I got here.  But afterwards, my dad got amnesia and moved away.  They pretty much just met each other, again that is, a couple months ago."

She raises her eyebrows.  “Your dad had amnesia?”

“Yeah.  He had some sort of brain injury or something.  I just met him this summer.”

"Strange.  But that doesn't mean they aren’t having sex.  My dad would get with girls he just met that day."

My jaw drops.  I couldn't imagine either of my parents doing something like that.

"Maybe he's not a good example," I say.

"Eh, probably not.  He did kill my mom."  She sits up.  "I bet if you check the drawer in the nightstand next to the bed, there'll be condoms in it."

I give her a disapproving look, but go over and open the drawer anyway.  It feels like I’m invading their privacy and I feel a little guilty, but Dad's shower water is running, so he won't know if I just open the drawer and look inside.  "Nope, nothing but a Bible."

"Maybe he keeps them in his suitcase."  She rummages through its contents.

"You shouldn't --"

"Did you know that's not your dad's natural hair color?" she asks me.  "There's hair dye in here."

"Yes, I did.  Now close that!"

"Okay, okay."  She closes the suitcase.  "Maybe you're right.  Your family is way different than mine was.  Your dad didn't call your mom a bitch even once yesterday."

I scrunch up my eyebrows.  "I don't think he ever has, that I can recall."

"See, way different."

I hear the shower water stopping.  A few minutes later, he comes out of the bathroom, drying off his hair with a towel.  "Oh, good, you're awake," he says.

I grab some clothes to change into.

"We need to make sure we have everything packed up and ready to go," he says.  "We're going to stay at the embassy until we take care of all the bureaucratic obstacles governments like to put in people’s way."

"What do we have to do here?" I ask.

"Well, we don't really want to leave Rosie on the streets, do we?" he asks, looking at Rosie.  She looks confused.  "We're not staying here.  If we take you out of the country without permission, that would look bad, especially after John was taken out of the Republic without permission.  So we're getting expedited permission from the Colonian government to take you back to the Republic, if you want.  Once we get home, we'll see about all the other details of your situation, like getting your father's parental rights revoked.  That might take some time."  He pauses for a moment.  "Would you like to go to the Republic?  I don't think we can adopt you, but we'll make sure you're taken care of."

She nods.

"We were hoping that you'd say that."  Dad looks at me.  "Unfortunately, you also have some things to do, John.  You'll need to talk to some people about what happened over the last week, particularly from the time you were taken from school to the time you escaped.  Don't worry, they're trying to catch the bad guys, not get you into trouble for anything you may have had to do after you left Ms. Harrison's apartment."

I look at him, confused.

"She owned the apartment you escaped from.  I'm guessing you climbed down the side of the building?"

"Yes."

He ruffles my hair and laughs.  "It's a good thing that you're our kid."

Rosie furrows her brows.

"When we get to the embassy, we'll officially be out of Colonian territory, and we'll be able to tell you who we are," my Dad tells her.  "Everything will make sense then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you liked this chapter. Comments are always welcome.


	18. The Embassy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel and June take John and Rosie to the embassy.

**June**

My lungs burn as I jog through the city.  I haven't run in several days, since I was too preoccupied with finding John.  It feels good to finally get some exercise, even though there’s sweat building up underneath my wig.  Running also gives me time to think.

I don't think running is very common in the Colonies.  Then again, there are places in the Republic where you won't see a lot of runners outside either.  As I pass the buildings near my hotel, I don't encounter too many people, since it's early in the day.  The ones I do pass look at me like I’m crazy or something.

John and I talked about Rosie after they fell asleep.  We decided we can’t adopt her, although we want to make sure she's well taken care of.  Although we haven't asked her how old she is, she's obviously very close in age to John, and she's cute once she cleans up a bit.  I don't want to risk the possibility of any awkward relationships developing between the two of them as they get older.

When I return to the hotel, Rosie and John are already awake and are dressed.  I quickly kiss John before grabbing clean clothes and stepping into the shower.  Since I already braided my hair to put under the wig, I don’t wash my hair.  Still, I can rinse off the sweat I collected while on my run.  I feel about a hundred pounds lighter today than I did at this time yesterday.  Before John found us.

After we get dressed, we pack our stuff, check out of the hotel, and drive to the embassy.  In the back of the car, Rosie fiddles with the buttons, obviously impressed with our rental car.  She’s probably been in a car before, but not one this nice.

A guard stops us at the gate.

"May I ask what business you're on?" the guard asks.

"We're Republican citizens," Daniel says.  "The Republic sent us on a mission to find John Iparis."  He points to John in the back seat.  Daniel gets his fake identification out of his wallet; I get mine out.  He hands it to the guard.  "Our contact at the embassy is Lieutenant Jackson."

The guard swipes the ID cards.  “They check out,” he says.  Peering into the back seat, he looks at John.  “So this is the boy who caused all the ruckus.”

John rolls his eyes.  “ _I_ didn’t do anything to cause a ruckus.  _I_ just went to school.”

“No offense intended,” the guard says, handing our ID cards back and waving us through.

He drives into the parking lot and finds a parking spot.  We grab our suitcases as we get out of the car.

"I've heard the name Iparis before," Rosie whispers to John.

"You probably have," he replies.

A tall, blonde haired man meets us at the entrance.  "Mr. and Mrs. Song!" he exclaims.  "Or should I say, Agent Wing and Commander Iparis?"

"I think it's safe to drop our disguise now," I say, looking around.  The embassy’s entryway is ornately decorated with marble floors and gold fixtures.  A few leather couches sit in a sunken waiting area.  The Republic doesn’t spare any expense in greeting its international guests.

"Your apartment is ready," he says.  He looks at Rosie.  "I'm guessing this is the complication you were telling me about."

"Yes," John says.  "This is Rosie.  She helped John after he escaped from Ms. Harrison's apartment.  She gets the reward money for returning him safely to us, but she doesn't have a home.  We’d like to get permission from the Colonies for her to travel back to the Republic with us."

The man looks to John and Rosie.  “I’m Lieutenant Jackson.  I’ve been helping your parents try to find you.”

John holds out his hand and shakes the Lieutenant’s hand.  “Nice to meet you.”  Rosie shrinks away from him and avoids making eye contact.

"Do you have a family?" Lieutenant Jackson asks Rosie.

"Hopefully not anymore," Rosie says.  "My dad was abusive, so I ran away a year ago."  She frowns.  "He killed my mom."

I raise my eyebrows.  She hadn't told us this part of her story.  I can't imagine the kinds of hell she must have gone through.

"I'll have Ambassador Weston work on that," he says.  "It shouldn’t be a problem, although we’ll have to eventually find out the whereabouts of her father and have parental rights terminated so she can stay in the Republic."

He looks at all of us.  "Let me show your apartment until we get everything cleared up here."  We follow him as he walks past a hallway full of offices.  At the front of the hallway are a few offices with doors on them; I assume they’re for the ambassador and high-level executives.  At the end of the hallway is a larger office broken up by cubicles.  We walk through the middle of the cubicle office and through a glass door leading to a tree-lined cement path.

We pass a swimming pool as we walk.  I should have brought my swimsuit with me.  A few laps would be relaxing.  A warm breeze caresses my face.  There won’t be many more weeks like this before there’s a crisp chill in the air when I wake up, even in Los Angeles.  The leaves on the trees lining our path are already beginning to yellow.

The ambassador leads us to another building at the end of the path.  After we enter, he turns towards the door to his left and swipes a card.  "Unfortunately, you won't be able to leave the embassy once information about John's rescue hits the media, but we have a cafeteria if you want it, a kitchen in your apartment if you wish to make anything, and if you need to purchase anything, we can send one of our assistants out to get it for you.  Do you need anything right now?"

"We're good," I say.

"I'll let you get settled, then," he says.  "We'll want to get John in a couple of hours to talk to him about his kidnapping, and I'll bring your room keys then."

We walk into the apartment and explore.  The entrance houses the living room and the kitchen.  Behind that, there’s a bathroom with a shower and tub.  Past the bathroom, bedrooms branch out from the hallway in the back.  One of the bedrooms is slightly larger and has an attached bathroom.

"I guess this one's ours," I say to Daniel, pointing out the master bedroom.  I set down my suitcase inside, sit down on the bed, and take off my wig.  "Glad I don’t have to wear this anymore."

Daniel heads into the bathroom.  "I'm glad I can take off these contacts."

I smile at him.  "You look better as a blue-eyed blonde anyway."

I follow him into the bathroom, take out my green contacts, and head back out into the hallway.

"I don't have to share this room with anybody?" Rosie asks me with wonder, looking at one of the bedrooms.

"It'll probably only be for a couple days, but no," I reply.  "When we get to the Republic, you won't have your own room, at least for a while, but this is yours for now."

Rosie lays back on the bed in her temporary room, spreading out her arms like she’s making a sand angel on the beach.  "This is sooo soft," she says.  "I could sleep here for days."

I laugh.  "You you can try, but I don’t think you’ll have days to sleep."

The shower is running.  Daniel must be using the chemical they gave him to rinse the dye out of his hair.

"How old are you, Rosie?" I ask.

"I'm nine," she says.  "My birthday is in February."

"How long have you been living on the streets?"

"About a year."

I sigh as I look at her.  I hope we'll be able to find her a good home.  She doesn't deserve the life she's had.

"I'm glad you bought swimsuits, Mom," John says.  "Did you see the pool outside?"

"Yes," I say, turning to John.  "The weather's still warm, too.  We can go out later tonight, if you’d like."

Daniel comes out of the shower a few minutes later with his hair back to its normal color.  I wrap my arms around his waist and kiss him.  "I love you best this way," I say.

He runs his fingers through my hair and breathes in deeply.  "I agree.  I love your hair and your eyes the way they're supposed to be."

Someone knocks at our door.  It's Lieutenant Jackson again.  John answers.

"I came with your apartment keys," he announces.  He hands John one of the cards.  "I also need to take John to his debriefing."

John's face falls a little.  "Okay," he says, quietly.  I'm sure he doesn't want to relive his nightmare again, but it's important to find out what happened.

He puts his hand on John's arm.  "It'll be okay," he says.  Daniel takes the other keys from him and we watch them leave.

"I better go file that paperwork," Daniel says.  "The sooner we can deal with the Colonian bureaucracy, the sooner we can go back to the Republic."  He hands me the remaining two keys as he files out the door.

I turn to Rosie.  "Would you like me to brush your hair?"  I ask.

She gives me a confused look.  "Why are you all being so nice to me?"

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"You hardly know me.  I spend a few days with your son, and now you're going to give me 100,000 notes and find a place for me to live?  I don't get it."

"The 100,000 notes was for anybody who returned John safely.  It has nothing to do with being nice."  I sit on the bed next to her.  "Besides, I know a few people who walked in your shoes before.  They'd kill me if I let John's savior go back to living on the streets."

"What do you mean, walking in my shoes?"

"Living on the streets."

"I wouldn't think that," she says, looking around.  "You have so much money and know such powerful people."

I laugh.  "It’ll be an adjustment, moving to the Republic and finding a new home with a new family.  I remember quite a few times when Day would say something and I wouldn't understand.  Or I'd say something that must have sounded ridiculous to him.  Like when he offered me food once and I said I didn't like it, when he had spent his whole life prior to that scrambling to find food to eat."

Her eyes widen.  "You know Day?"

"So do you.  Now."

She looks confused for a moment.  "John's dad, right?"

I nod.

"That's where I heard the name Iparis before."  She looks at me.  "We only studied the end of the war a little, but everybody knows the name Day."  Her expression looks downcast for a moment.  "I remember reading about him in history class, wishing that we had our own Day in the Colonies.  He looked out for everyone that people in power tend to forget."  Her eyes light up.  "Like he's looking out for me now."

I smile, tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, and start brushing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments are always welcome.


	19. It's Always Been June

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get ready to bring Rosie to the Republic. Kisses at the end ;-).

**Daniel**

I sit in Ambassador Weston's office with the laptop she loaned me, typing a letter requesting for Rosie to come with us to the Republic.  We’d like to keep her at least until we can figure out where her parents are and whether it would be safe to send her back to them or not.

"So you don't know how old she is?" she asks, adjusting her glasses.

"No.  She's probably about eight or nine."

"And she was just wandering the streets."

I look up from my letter.  "Is that surprising at all?  It happens all the time, yeah?  It happens in the Republic, maybe not as much as it used to, but I'm sure it still happens.  The Colonies may have a different culture, but they still have their problems with poverty and dysfunctional families."

"I'm sure I'll be able to get this pushed through.  It's not like the Colonies are clamoring to keep all the kids on their streets.  'Good riddance' is probably what they'll say when I request we take one to the Republic."  She laughs a little.

"I'm sure the Republic would have been happy to get rid of me," I chuckle.  "Me, in particular, but it's not like the city police had any fondness for any of us kids on the streets."

"We probably won’t get anything done until Monday.  Everybody's gone home for the weekend."

"That's fine," I say.  "It would be nice if the Republic finds Ms. Harrison before we have to head back though.  Especially if she's a Colonian citizen now and we can't extradite her."

"They're working on that," she says.  "I doubt she has many places to hide, and there's a reward for information leading to her arrest, so hopefully we'll find her soon.  Or the other two."

I finish my letter and email it to the ambassador.

"Would it be okay if I talked to her?" she asks.  "If the Colonian government has questions, I’d like to have answers for them."

I shrug.  "Do you want to come back to our apartment with me?  I don't know how she would feel, but you could ask her."

"That might be the best."  We leave her office together.

On the way back to our temporary apartment, I run into John and Lieutenant Jackson.  John doesn't look like his normal happy self, but I guess that's to be expected after having to talk about his kidnapping experience.

"Hey," I say, putting my arm on his shoulder.  "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," he says, shrugging.

"This is Ambassador Weston," I say.  "She'll help us take Rosie to the Republic without getting the Colonies mad at us."

"Nice to meet you, Ambassador," he says, offering his hand to shake hers.  He's grown up around politics, so I guess he's comfortable meeting high-ranking people.

"You know, if you ever want to talk about what happened, I’m always here to listen," I say.

"I know."  After shaking the ambassador's hand, he shoves his hand into his pocket.

We reach our apartment and I unlock the door.  June is sitting with Rosie in the living room, talking.

Ambassador Weston smiles.  "Hi Rosie," she says softly.  "Mind if I sit down next to you?"

Rosie shrugs.

"I'm Miss Christina," she says, sitting next to her on the opposite side of June.  Ambassador Weston seems to have a way with children.  I sit on the other couch.  "I'm trying to help Daniel and June bring you to the Republic.  Would it be okay if I ask you some questions?"

"I guess."

"Could you tell me your last name?"

"Lu."

"What are your parent's names?"

"Greg.  My mom's name was Cyndi."

"Daniel tells me that your mom died.  Is that correct?"

"Yeah.  Dad killed her."  Rosie looks down at her shoes.

"Did he ever go to prison for that?"

Rosie shrugs.  "I dunno.  They weren't paying for DesCon protection, so probably not."

_What kind of cracked country won't investigate a murder case if you're not paying for police services?_   I think.

"How old are you?"

"Nine."

"When's your birthday?"

"February 27, 2134."  Even though most of the questions are fairly innocuous, Rosie’s eyes radiate annoyance, as if she’s being investigated by the police department.

"Do you want to go to the Republic with Mr. Wing and Commander Iparis?"

"It's all the same, isn't it?  In the Republic, I'll have a place to live, so, yeah."

"I'm just checking.  We don't want to take you anywhere against your will."  The ambassador makes a few notes on her tablet, then looks back up at Rosie.  "I'll talk to the Colonian government about this on Monday, but more than likely, they'll give us permission to take you to the Republic."

Rosie snorts.  "They won't care if I go.  One less street con for them to worry about."

Ambassador Weston shrugs.  "You're probably right, but we just want to make sure we dot all our i's and cross all our t's.  It would look terrible if Daniel was charged with kidnapping right after his son was kidnapped.  The Colonial government will have to investigate your father and terminate parental rights, but you don’t have to worry about that.  You won't be adoptable until then."

Rosie puts her arms around her knees and frowns.  "Who would want to adopt me anyway?"

I feel bad for her.  June and I would want to adopt her, if she wasn't so close in age, and the opposite gender, to John.

"We'll find somebody.  In the meantime, Daniel and June will be happy to take care of you."  She looks at Rosie thoughtfully for a second.  "You might not have a say in who adopts you…"

I glare at the admiral.  That's not going to happen.  Christina Weston sees my glance.

"On the other hand, you’ll at least have veto power over who might adopt you," she says, changing her stance.  She laughs.  "Daniel over there is someone you don't want to mess with.  I've heard that sometimes he can even tell the Elector what to do."

Rosie looks over at me.  "Really?"

"Really.  Certainly not on every issue, but if he thinks the government is messing over the people, Daniel could have the country rioting by tomorrow.  The people love him.  Still do, even though most people haven't heard from him in about ten years.  I guess it shouldn't surprise me that he wants to help you.  It's just something in his nature.  That's why he has the power that he does."

 

Tonight June is no longer wearing her wig; I have no pins to take out of her hair or any braids to unwind.  I sit next to her on the bed, admiring how beautiful she is.

A smile slowly spreads over her face.  "If all this crap with John hadn't happened, we would have gone to that Independence Day ball tonight," she says.

I lean back against the wall.  "Ugh…" I groan.  "I don't know what's worse, an evening with those goddy politicians, or everything we've been through this week."

She puts her hand on my thigh.  "Oh, come on, it's not that bad."

I raise an eyebrow at her.

"It's not like they'd mock your lack of table manners this time."

"You grew up with fancy dinners and politics though," I say.  "Sure, I can tie a tie and use the correct fork, but they're still way out of my league.  I don't think I'll ever be comfortable going to those places."

She leans closer to me.  "If we had gone to Denver together, there might have been one good thing about the evening."  Her breath feels warm against my cheek.

I lean into her.  "Oh really?  What's that?"

She kisses my cheek.  I turn my head, and her lips meet mine.  My hands instinctively move to her waist.  I push my tongue into her mouth and pull her closer.  She puts her leg over my other hip so she's straddling me.

"June," I breathe, as she reaches for the buttons of my shirt.

"We didn't go to Denver, but we can still do this here," she whispers.  I smile and start unbuttoning her shirt.

"Definitely," I say.  I kiss her again with more urgency.  She tosses my shirt onto the floor.  I lean forward, pushing her onto her back, then reach for the top button on her pants.

I've wanted her for weeks now.  Well, maybe since the night we had dinner together at Tess’s —  after all, I'm a guy, and she's the girl I've been dreaming about for the last ten years.  I've held back for one reason or another: we hadn't known each other long enough, we didn't want to set a bad example for John, I didn't want my first memory of being with her to be tarnished by John's kidnapping.  All these barriers have melted away now.  While technically, two months isn't very long to have known someone, I know that I love June and never want to be with anybody else. 

We try to be quiet as we love each other.  I don't want John in the room next door to hear, and I don't want Rosie to hear either; I have the dreadful feeling that she may have been abused more than physically.  My breaths come raggedly as I kiss June and our bodies intertwine.

Any walls that I've unknowingly built up over the ten years that we've been apart from each other have been torn down completely.  I know I'll never love another.  I know why I couldn't get close to anybody in Antarctica.  It's always been June.  It will always be June.  I don't want to tell her — yet — because I don't want to scare her, but I know this more than I know my own name.

After, I lay next to her with my arm around her waist.  I don't want to move, but at some point I’ll have to get up and put on a pair of shorts.  Morning will come too soon, and one of the two kids will come knocking on the door asking for breakfast.

June looks at me with half-sleepy eyes, and I smile back at her.  She pulls me back into her and kisses me again, wanting more.  I kiss her back and lose my train of thought as my desire builds again.  The clothes can wait a little longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter. Comments are always welcome.


	20. Caught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The weekend.

**John**

When I wake up, it takes me a moment to realize where I am.  I'm in an apartment at the Republican embassy.  The room is dark because it has no windows, so I flip on a light.

Last night, Rosie had nightmares.  It happened another time when we were on the streets together.  If I had had her life, I'd be haunted by nightmares too.

I hop out of bed and throw on some clothes from my suitcase.  I haven't bothered to unpack; hopefully we'll go home tomorrow, anyway.  When I get back to school, I’ll have plenty of stories to tell the other kids..

I wonder what Rosie will think of our school.  I guess she'll be going there.  Maybe she wouldn’t be in a high enough grade.  She probably hasn't gone to school for at least a year.

After I put my clothes on, I wander over to my parents' room and knock on the door.

"Yes?" My dad says after a moment.  I open the door.

They must have just woken up too.  They're both sitting up on the bed with the blankets covering their legs.  Dad's not wearing a shirt, and mom is wearing a pink pajama shirt with black polka dots.  I've seen her wearing it around the house before.

I look on the floor, which I immediately regret.  Their clothes are strewn on the floor in random order.  My mom's bra is laying on the floor next to Dad's side of the bed, Dad's pants are on Mom's side of the bed, and the rest of the clothes are crumpled on the floor next to the bed in random places.  I look up, hoping that they didn't notice my glance.  Maybe I’m not as observant as my mom, but I realize Rosie was probably right about them.  I hope my cheeks aren't turning pink.

"I was wondering if we could go to the cafeteria for breakfast," I ask.

"Sure, sweetie," my mom says.  I think she saw me glance at the clothes on the floor, because she looks a little uncomfortable.  "Is Rosie awake yet?"

"No.  I can go wake her up though."  I turn around and knock on Rosie's door.

"Wake up!" I say, opening the door.  Rosie is laying down in the bed, staring at the wall.  The scratches on her face look more pronounced than they did yesterday.  I sit on the bed next to her.  "Hey, you all right?"

She sighs.  "I had a hard time sleeping last night, that's all."

"Nightmares?"

"Yeah, and I'm worried.  What if they go make me live with my dad again?  What happens if nobody wants to adopt me and your dad kicks me out?"

"That won’t happen.  My dad won't let it."

"Oh, really?" She sits up.  "How do you know?  How well do you even know him?  You told me yourself that you've only known him for a couple months."

"My mom's been talking about him my whole life.  He’s like this hero to her.  She knew him a lot longer than that."

"I hope you're right."

"Anyway, you have to get dressed.  We're going to the cafeteria for breakfast."

I leave her and shut the door behind me.

 

The cafeteria at the embassy is a lot like a buffet restaurant.  They don't have too many in the Republic yet, but there's one in the Emerald sector that my mom sometimes takes me to.

"How much can we take?" Rosie asks after we get out of the line and pick up a tray and a plate.

"You can eat as much as you want," my mom says.  "You don't have to take everything at once though, because you can go back for seconds… and thirds, if you want."

"Really?" her eyes widen.

"Sure."  We take our trays to a long table filled with trays of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and hash browns.  I spoon eggs, bacon, and hash browns onto my plate.  The smell wafts up to my nostrils and causes my mouth to salivate.

"I don't even know what half of this stuff is," she whispers to me.

"Try a little of anything that looks good," I say.  "If you like it, you can go back and get more."

After we fill our plates with food, we all sit down at a table together.  I eat slowly, like Mom taught me to do at a restaurant, but Rosie is shoveling food into her mouth like she hasn't eaten in weeks.

"Take it easy there," I say.  "The food isn't going anywhere."

Her face turns red.  "Oh, sorry.  I'm just not used to having all that you want to eat."

"Don't make yourself sick," my dad says.  "There's still lunch later today, you know, so it's not like you have to eat an entire day's worth of food in one meal."

Rosie blushes.  "It's easy to forget that."

"We don't have much to do today," my dad says.  "We hope to hear from the Colonies tomorrow, but until then, we don't have anything planned today.  You can watch movies on television this afternoon, or maybe go to the pool."

"I saw a movie once," Rosie says, her mouth full of food.

"Once?" I ask.

"Yeah.  Our school brought a television into the classroom, and we watched a movie about some kids during the war.  It was good."  She takes another bite of scrambled eggs.  "We didn't have a television in our house, and Mom and Dad never had money to go to movie theaters."

"I never went to a movie theater until I moved to Antarctica, when I was seventeen," my dad says.  "My mom couldn't afford to take us to the movies either.  My dad disappeared when I was young."

"That's sad," Rosie says.

My dad and Rosie seem to have a lot in common, although I’m pretty sure Dad's family was loving.  Eden seems nice, and Dad obviously cares a lot about him.  Whenever they talk about their parents or their brother John, it’s always apparent that they loved them.  Rosie doesn't want to have anything to do with her dad, and she hasn't told me much about her mom either.

I hear a quiet buzzing sound.  It's my dad's burner phone, which is sitting on the table.  "Sorry, I have to take it," he says, pressing on the screen.  "Hello?"

He is listening to someone on the other end.  "That's good to hear.  Yes, she can be there.  All right, I'll let her know."

He hangs up the phone.  "That was Lieutenant Jackson," he tells us.  "They found Emma Harrison.  She's at the embassy’s brig."  He looks at Mom.  "I'm sure you would love to question her."

Mom's eyes gleam in a way I’ve never seen them before; her look seems almost sinister.  "Absolutely."  Her smile is scary, like Rex Johnson when he wants to pick on me.  I wouldn't want to be Ms. Harrison today.

"Would you two be okay if we leave to talk to her for a few hours?" Dad asks.  "You can stay at the apartment and watch movies."

Rosie rolls her eyes.  "I lived by myself on the streets for a year.  A few hours in front of a television set is like being wrapped in a fluffy warm blanket."

I laugh.

 

"So what's your school like?" Rosie asks.  We're sitting on the same couch together, watching a movie about a kid who gets lost in the wilderness.

I shrug.  "I don't know.  It's school.  The teachers are nice.  Some kids are nice.  My dad went to the school the day before I was kidnapped and almost made this one mean kid wet his pants, I think!"

She laughs.  "Does your school have cute boys there?"

"How am I supposed to know if a boy is cute or not?  I’m not into that sort of thing."  I realize that it might sound like I’m not interested in cute girls, so I clarify.  "Boys, that is."

"Are some of them cute like you?"

I suddenly have to cough.  I’m not sure where that came from, although I know I’m good looking.  Girls tell me that all the time.  Rosie is pretty and all, but since we'll probably be living with each other, at least for a while, I shouldn’t think about her that way.  I don't want her thinking about me that way, either.  Maybe this is why my parents are against adopting her.

"What's wrong?"

"Maybe we should focus on the movie," I suggest.  I’m not sure how to bring this subject up with her.  "You can't think I’m cute."

"Why not?"  She is pouting.

"We're probably going to live together, for now, at least.  We can't like each other like that."

"Your parents live together."

"No they don't!  My dad lives downstairs from me with his brother.  He goes home every night when we're in the Republic.  This… them staying together is not their normal living arrangement.  Besides, it's not the same.  You kinda have to be like my sister right now."

"Why?"

"Because if we liked each other, you know, like that, they probably wouldn't let us stay in an apartment together watching a movie.  Mom and Dad would make me go live with Dad and Eden.  That's my uncle."

She scrunches up her eyebrows.  "I don't get it."

"Maybe because your family was not normal."

"And yours is?  You don't meet your dad until you're ten years old, your dad doesn't know he has a son and didn't even remember meeting your mom, and then they're practically in love with each other right after meeting?  That's normal?"  She narrows her eyes, which would radiate sparks if eyes could be electrified.

"I never said it was."  I turn towards the television, avoiding her glance.

She's mad at me, but I don't care.  That's probably for the best.  If she's angry, maybe she won't think I'm cute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you liked this. Comments are always appreciated.


	21. Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> June and Daniel question Ms. Harrison.

**June**

Lieutenant Jackson leads us to the armory, which is stocked from floor to ceiling with weapons ranging from simple knives to machine guns.  If the Colonies ever try to storm the embassy, whoever is working here will be able to defend it.

He passes me a handgun.  It’s one of the recent models imported from Antarctica.  If I had a chip implanted, like all Antarctican adults do, it would recognize me.  I use a model like this in Los Angeles, although our street patrols don’t have them yet.

“Do you know how to use this model?” he asks as he hands Daniel a gun.

“Daniel Wing” a robotic noise says as he takes the weapon.  “Pairing.”

Daniel winks at the Lieutenant.  “I worked in Antarctican intelligence,” he says.  “I’ve used weapons like these a few times.”

He lived in Antarctica for a decade; I should have guessed that he’d have an Antarctican implant compatible with these guns.

He looks at the gun and briefly makes a face that vanishes almost as quickly as it arrives.

I look at him with concern while Lieutenant Jackson escorts us to the brig.  “I think I had a flashback a minute ago,” he whispers to me.

“You might have.”  I put my hand on his shoulder to calm him.  “The Republic doesn’t prohibit torturing prisoners during questioning.  I’m afraid you were on the receiving end of it once.”

The brig itself is tiny, with only a few cells.  It’s like most prisons you’ll find in the Republic, with bare Republic blue cement floors, thick iron bars keeping the prisoners in, and walls made of off-white cement blocks.  A toilet in the corner along with a simple white bed with a Republican blue wool blanket completes the dreary picture.

Ms. Harrison is the only prisoner here today.  She is tall, with her graying dark hair tied in a severe bun.  Daniel glares at her as we approach her cell.  Like all Republican prisons, cameras in here record everything, so whatever we can get her to say can be used in court against her.

I unlock the cell door and we enter, shutting it behind us.

"Sit," I say.  "It looks like our son spent a little time in your apartment last week."

She sits on the bed and stares at me in silence, her eyes brimming with hatred.

"You know, this can be easy, or we can make it hard for you.  I don't really care which.  If you talk now, you can avoid the worst of our interrogation methods.  If Daniel here could remember, he would know that the main reason he has this artificial knee --" I tap on the metal in his leg, making a muffled clanking sound "-- is because while he was a prisoner with a wounded leg, it became infected and we let it stay that way."  I reach down and squeeze her chin, lifting it to force her to look at me.

“And I was merciful to him.”  I narrow my eyes at her.  “You don’t have the advantage he does.  I was attracted to him.”

I release her chin, and she gives Daniel a look that would kill him if it were possible.  "Too bad he didn't die of that."

"Well, he didn't."  I observe the venom in her eyes.  "You have some sort of personal vendetta against Daniel, it seems.  You've been trying to murder him with your eyes since we walked in here.  As far as I know, however, looks are harmless."

"Everybody in the Republic would be better off if he was dead," she spits.

Daniel snorts.  "I'm sure the millions of kids who are alive because they never failed the trials would like that."

"Those millions of kids --" she hisses, "are imbeciles and morons.  The weak and the lame.  The Republic would be better off if they were dead."

"You forget to add poor," Daniel says.  "My trial score was perfect, but did I get a scholarship to Drake?"  He shakes his head.  "No.  They told me I failed, experimented on me, and left me for dead.  Just because I was poor.  _That_ is what your precious trial system was doing."

"And the rebellious."

"So you were a fan of the trial system," I say, pacing in the front of her.  "That doesn't explain why you had _John_ kidnapped."  I'm not exactly sure what happened yet, but it's my best guess, and if I'm right, I might be able to squeeze a confession out of her.  "He had nothing to do with the trials."

"John wasn't the target," she says.  "He was just collateral damage.  I could have simply hired a hit on Day here," she says, nonchalantly waving her hand at Daniel, "but that would have been too easy.  I wanted to make him suffer."  Her voice was edged like a dagger.  "I wanted revenge for what he did to the Republic.  Then, when he came to get his precious _boy_ , we were going to have him killed."

"I see how well that worked out," Daniel says sarcastically.

"Well, I didn't expect him to jump out of a ten-story building," she says.

"Actually, I think he climbed out," I say.  "I'm surprised that you didn't take into consideration that both Daniel and I are expert climbers and have scaled many buildings in the past.  You didn't think John would at least try to figure out how to do that himself, if it was a matter of life or death?"  I shrug.  "Well, it didn't work out for you," I add.  "Do you want to tell me about your two helpers?  Master Sergeant Hutchins and Captain Papillion?"

"No."

I take out my weapon.  "Which kneecap would you prefer to lose?"

"Fuck you."

"Wrong answer.  I'll give you one more chance.  You see, I really don't care whether you can walk again or not.  It's nothing to me.  Are your friends really worth it?"

She watches as I take aim at her knee.  I release the safety.  "Wait!  I hired them.  They used to work for me at the Las Vegas trial stadium.  I'm not sure where they are right now, but they live in the Republic."

"Fine."  I lower my weapon.  "Do you have any questions, Daniel?"

"No.  But I hope the judge doesn’t show you mercy during sentencing."

 

Back at the apartment, John and Rosie are still watching the movie we put on for them.  They're sitting on the opposite sides of the couch, but they’re not looking at each other.  It looks like they're angry for some reason.

Kids.  I’m only used to caring for John; I have no clue how to deal with multiple children.  But it looks like I’ll have to learn, at least for as long as Rosie is staying with us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I can't believe it's less than a month until Rebel comes out! This story should be completely published by then. Comments are always appreciated.


	22. Home Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everybody returns to the Republic

**June**

The Colonies approve our request to take Rosie back to the Republic the next morning, so we pack up our stuff and get ready to go.  While we are waiting for a helicopter to take us to Denver, I send Tess and Eden emails telling them we're on our way back, and ask them if they want to have dinner tonight — with an extra guest, of course.

"I've never been on a helicopter before," Rosie says cheerfully as we board the aircraft.  "Or an airplane.  I can ride on both in the same day!"

"I've never been on a helicopter either," John replies, "and I wouldn't exactly say that my first plane trip was very fun, either.  They had a bag over my head the entire time, and I was hungry."

I look out the window as the aircraft flies over the fields outside of Salina.  I'll be glad to be home in my bed tonight.  This trip has been exhausting, even though I liked spending the extra time with Daniel.  He holds my hand as he looks over my shoulder at the fields outside the window.

"I'll be glad to be home," he sighs.  "I'd rather be solving a murder case in the Lake sector than my son's kidnapping any day!"

"John didn't miss too much school either," I say.  "He'll have some extra work to make up, but it won’t be too bad."  I look behind me at John and Rosie, who are playing games on tablets I purchased before we left the Colonies.  "I have no idea what grade Rosie will test into.  If she's too far behind her same-age peers, we might want to hire a tutor for her so she can catch up."

"She'll probably need some sort of counseling as well," John adds.  "I don't know what she went through with her family or living on the street, but I'm sure it left some scars."

I nod.  "Hopefully she won't have too much trouble adjusting."

When we get to Denver, we take a private plane back to Los Angeles.  We could wait for a commercial flight, but I'm tired and don't feel like dealing with crowds and lines.  The Republic is willing to pay for it.  Although the sun is sinking, it still hasn't set as we approach the military base in Los Angeles.

"Ugh, I don't want to have dinner at Tess and Brian's this evening," Daniel says.  "I'm so tired; I just want to go to bed."

"It'll be good for you," I say, brushing my hand against his cheek.  "We haven't seen them in more than a week.  Besides, they need to meet Rosie."

Rosie and John don't look exhausted, at least.  Rosie is enjoying the plane's mini-bar, trying out different sodas and snacks.  John is looking out the window, watching the streets slowly get bigger as the plane descends.

"What's your apartment like?" Rosie asks, her mouth full of chocolate covered candies.

"It's nice, I guess." John says, shrugging.  "We live in Ruby sector, so I guess most places are nice there."

"I don't know much about Los Angeles."

"It's warm most of the year," John says.  "But it seems like Salina stays warm for a lot of the year too.  We have the ocean that you can go to sometimes.  Sometimes hurricanes come through."

After our plane touches down, a military vehicle greets us and takes us to our apartment building.  The elevator first opens at Daniel's floor.  He gives me a quick kiss before he gets off and tells me he'll see me later.

Rosie's eyes light up when she sees our apartment.  "This place is amazing!" she exclaims as she enters the apartment and looks around.  "This is like a palace!"

"Unfortunately, this is only a two-bedroom apartment," I say.  "I'll make some room in my closet for your clothes, but you'll have to sleep on the couch for now.  We'll figure out something else for the long-term.  Whether that includes moving to a larger apartment or you moving in with a new family, I don't know yet."

"That's okay."  I'm sure that sleeping on the couch beats her living situation on the streets; after visiting some of the poorer areas in the Colonies, The couch might even be a better living situation than what she had when she still lived with her family.

“We're gonna leave to have dinner with some friends in about an hour,” I announce, “so don’t get too into a movie or anything between now and then.”.

 

“Rosie, we need to go!”  I give her a dress to put on and tell her to change in my room.  She already seems to be learning the art of dawdling.

She opens the bedroom door, wearing the purple knee-length gown I gave her.  Rosie averts my gaze.  “Do I look okay?”

“You look beautiful,” I say.  “I can’t wait for you to meet my friends.”

We take the elevator down to Daniel and Eden’s apartment.  They open the door as soon as I ring the doorbell.

Eden beams when he sees John.  “How’s my favorite nephew?” he asks, giving him a hug.  “You had me worried!”

“I’m your only nephew!”  John rolls his eyes.  “That means I’m your least favorite nephew too!”

Eden shakes his head.  “Never!”  We exit the apartment building together and head over to Tess’s.

When we arrive, Tess answers the door and greets me with a hug.  "I'm so glad you guys are back," she says.  She looks at John.  "We were so afraid for you.  You must have been terrified."

"Part of the time," he answers.  "Part of the time, especially when I was in the jail, was just boring, though."

"Well, we're glad to have you back."  She looks behind me and sees Rosie.  "Well, aren't you a little cutie!" she exclaims.  Rosie tries to hide behind me.

"This is Rosie," I say, turning to the girl.  "She helped John after he escaped from his captors.  She had been living on the streets."

Tess nods sympathetically at her.  "Well, I know all about that.  Day helped me after my parents kicked me out of my house, when I was about your age."

"Your parents kicked you out of your house?" she asks incredulously.

"Yeah.  They figured they had too many mouths to feed.  It was a good thing they kicked me out though.  I probably would have failed my trial.  Back in those days, they killed kids that failed the trial."

She shudders.

"Don't worry, they closed the trial stadiums down.  You'll never have to worry about that."

"Oh, good."

"Why don't you let us in?"  Daniel pushes his way into the room.  "Enough chit-chat in the hallway."

"Sure, come on in," Tess says.  "We're having hamburgers.  I didn't feel like planning anything fancy at the last minute."

"Good to see you!" Brian says, giving Daniel a pat on the back.  "You've been all over the Jumbotrons while you were gone."

"Great," Daniel says, sarcastically rolling his eyes.  "Like I want everybody knowing our business."

"You should be used to it by now," Brian says.  "How many kids did the tabloids say you had, back in the day?"

"And I don't remember a goddy thing about any of it."

"Well, that's okay, I’m sure that it will all blow over soon.  People will gossip about something else next week."

We all sit down at the table while Brian brings a tray of hamburger patties to the table.  Rosie looks confused.

"Have you had a hamburger before?" John asks.

"Yeah," she replies.  "Sometimes I found them in the trash after a restaurant threw them out."

John wrinkles up his nose.  "I'm glad we could steal enough food so I didn't have to resort to that."  He points to the food on the table.  "Just take what you're hungry for.  One hamburger… you can put cheese or ketchup on it if you want… some baked beans, some potato salad.  You don't have to take too much food at once, because you can always get a little more if you're still hungry after that."

She nods.  "Like at the cafeteria?"

"Exactly."

"So, how'd you end up saving John here?" Eden asks as he assembles a cheeseburger.

"Well, I was trying to find some food or money or something," Rosie begins.  "I was in the rich part of Salina.  Anyway, I see this kid climbing down a skyscraper.  I thought he was climbing the walls to steal something, but it turned out he was escaping from getting kidnapped instead.  I told him he needed to get off the streets so the police won't see him, and then we started hanging out."

"Well, we're certainly happy you ran into him," Tess says.

"How long have you been living on the streets?" Brian asks.

"About a year," Rosie replies.  "My dad was abusive.  One night, he took too many drugs, and while he was high, he killed my mom.  I left that night."

"That must have been scary," Eden says.

"You do what you have to," she says, shrugging.

Tess whispers something to Brian, and they excuse themselves.  "We'll be right back," she says, pulling him out of the room.

"These are delicious," Rosie says as she takes another bite out of her hamburger.  "You people in the Republic sure know how to cook!"

John laughs.  "Well, if your only other experience with hamburgers was out of a trash can, I'm sure these would be heavenly in comparison."

Rosie glares at him for a moment before she continues to eat her burger.

Tess and Brian return shortly, and we finish our meal, getting caught up on everything that happened in the Republic over the past week and a half, talking about some of the things that happened to Tess at the hospital, discussing the new project that Eden is working on.  The time flies by, and I'm stunned when I look at my watch and realize how late it's getting.

"We really have to leave," I say.  "John has to go back to school tomorrow."

"Will I go to school too?" Rosie asks.

"We have to get you enrolled first," I say.  "The school will require a little bit of testing to make sure you get put into the right grade.  If you're too far behind, we'll hire a tutor until you can get caught up."

She looks disappointed.

"Don't be in such a hurry to go to school," John says.  "You get an extended vacation."

"I hoped I could make some friends."

"We'll get you some of those too," I say, smiling.  "One thing at a time."

Tess pulls me aside before we leave.  "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure." I follow her into her spare bedroom.

Tess puts her hands into her pockets.  "I was wondering if you’ve thought about what you were gonna do with Rosie.  Were you and Daniel planning on adopting her?"

I shake my head.  "I don't know what we'll do," I say.  "All I know is, we couldn't leave her on the streets like that.  Daniel wouldn't have allowed it, for one thing."  I put my hand up to my head.  "I wish we could, but I don't that adopting her would be a good idea for us.  She's too close in age to John, and if they ever became _interested_ in each other, that wouldn't turn out well."

"Well, um… Brian and I were thinking… maybe we could adopt her?"

I smile.  "That would be great!  We'd need to talk to Rosie about that though.  We promised Rosie she could veto any prospective parents, but Rosie seems to like you.  She'll probably need some counseling and some tutoring, but we're more than happy to help pay for those costs."

"You wouldn't have to…"

I raise my eyebrows at her.  "We insist.  We're able to afford it more easily than you can, anyway."

"You have a point there."

"Anyway, I'll talk to Daniel about it.  He'll probably love the idea.  Then we'll have to bring it up with Rosie.  The Colonies will have to investigate her case and terminate her father's parental rights before she's cleared for adoption, but I don't see any reason why she wouldn't be able to live with you once we get Daniel and Rosie on board."

Tess squeezes my arm.  "I'm a little nervous.  You know how Brian and I can’t have children," she says.  "I hope this all works out for us."

"Don't worry," I say.  "I'm sure everything will work out."


	23. Rosie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the first day of school and work after returning from the Colonies.

**June**

After we return to our apartment building, I get off the elevator on Daniel’s floor, holding the door open.

“You two go ahead,” I say, looking back at the kids.  “I need to talk to Daniel for a minute.”

John shrugs.  “Okay, Mom.”  The elevator doors shut and I follow Daniel and Eden into their apartment.

“What’s going on?” Daniel asks as the door shuts behind us.  Eden glances at us and retreats to his room to give us more privacy.

"Tess would like to adopt Rosie.  What do you think?"

"If Rosie's on board with that, I like that idea."

"So do I."  I sit on his couch.  "I'll ask her about it tomorrow, if you don't mind.  There isn’t enough room for her in my apartment, not for the long-term.  Tess and Brian have a big enough apartment for her.  They mostly use their second bedroom for storing clothes and the occasional out-of-town guest."

He sits down next to me, and our thighs brush.  "Are you taking her to school tomorrow?"

"Yeah.  She needs to be tested and I need to get her registered.  We don't have her birth certificate, but that should be a problem.  Especially when her temporary guardians are well-connected."  I elbow him in the side.

"Sometimes I feel like such a trot," Daniel says, leaning back on the couch and running a hand through his hair.  "My kid gets kidnapped, it almost causes an international incident.  I want to take someone out of the Colonies, it gets fast-tracked in one business day.  I want to put someone in school, they jump through whatever hoops it takes to get it done."

"At least you use your power for good," I say, putting my hand on his thigh.  "It's not like you haven't earned every single bit of power you have.  It would be one thing if you were taking bribes or whatever because of who you are, but you're not."

"I guess you're right."

I lean over and kiss him.  "Got an early day tomorrow," I say.  "I'll see you after work."

I leave his apartment and go upstairs.  Rosie is watching television while John is taking a shower.  I sit on the couch next to her and smile.

"Big day tomorrow," I say.  "We need to get up early, so make sure you get plenty of rest okay?  Let's go find some blankets and a pillow."

 

"Wake up!" I announce as I stroll through the living room.  "Time to get ready for school!  Or school enrollment, at least."

"I'm so tired," Rosie groans, rolling over.  "Do I have to get up?"

"Yes," I say, pulling the blanket off her.  "Nine-year-olds in the Republic have to go to school.  Unless they're street kids.  But you’re not a street kid anymore, so get up!"

I knock on John's door and make sure he's awake.  He's used to early school mornings, so he gets up without a complaint, rubbing his eyes and squinting at the morning light.

John opens the pantry to show Rosie the cereal, bread, and bagels, and tells her to get whatever she wants for breakfast.  She looks at him with a confused look.

"Why don't you just have what I'm having today?" he says.  "I'm having cereal.  All you have to do is grab a bowl out of this cupboard," he grabs two bowls and puts them on the counter, "and pour some cereal into a bowl.  I don't know how much you're hungry for, so I'll let you pour however much you want.  After that, you go to the refrigerator and grab some milk, and pour it over the top.  Voila!  You're done."  He gives Rosie a serious look.  "Make sure you put the milk away after you're done with it.  Mom gets mad if you leave it out because then it goes bad and you have to throw it away."

Rosie looks at him in horror.  "You throw food away?"

"When it goes bad, yes.  Nobody wants to eat rotten food.  It could make you sick.  Anyway, if Mom throws out milk because I leave it on the counter, she gets mad because I'm wasting money."

John watches as Rosie pours her cereal and puts the milk into the refrigerator.

"After you pour milk on your cereal, it starts to get soggy," John adds, "so you want to eat it right away.  Cereal tastes best when it's nice and crispy."  He takes his bowl to the table and sets it down, then goes back into the kitchen.  "The silverware drawer is here," he says, opening the drawer.  "We have plenty of spoons.  Mom makes me wash them, so don't take out a bunch of spoons you're not going to use."

"Okay."

John hands Rosie a spoon and sits back at the dining room table.

I go change into my work uniform.  I don't know how much I'll accomplish today, but I'll check in at the office sometime.  After being away for so long, I’m sure there are several fires to put out and things that need my attention.

After I get my clothes on and do my hair, I tell Rosie to change into some clothes for school.  She grabs one of her outfits out of my closet and goes into the bathroom to change.  I toast a bagel and pour myself a glass of orange juice.  I don't have a lot of time for breakfast today, so I'll eat in the car.

"Rosie, I wanted to ask you something," I ask while driving to the school, "did you enjoy having dinner with Tess and Brian last night?"

"Yeah," she answered.  "Those hamburgers were delicious.  Brian's a great cook.  But they're adults.  I'm hoping to meet some kids my age at school."

"Do you think they’re nice?"

"Sure.  They seem to like me.  That's a good thing."  She looks out the window to watch the passing traffic. "This place is so much different than the Colonies. There aren't ads all over the place."

"It is a different country. Anyway, they were wondering if maybe you'd let them adopt you."

I look at Rosie's reflection in the rear-view mirror as she turns to me.  Her eyes widen.  "They want to adopt me?"

"I talked to Daniel about it last night, and he thought it would be a good idea if you were interested.  They don't have as much money as we do, so we'd help pay if you needed any tutoring or anything like that, at least for a while, but as soon as they can clear out their spare room, you'd have your own bedroom, so you wouldn't have to sleep on our couch or use my closet."

Rosie is practically bouncing in her seat.  "When can I go?"

"We're still working on that, but soon."

We pull up to the school, and John opens the door to exit the vehicle.  "Have a good day!" I call out. When Rosie moves to open the door, I shake my head. "Not yet."

Rosie looks at me, confused.  "You'll be coming into the school with me," I tell her.  "You’ll need to get registered, and the school will need to give you a placement test so they know what grade to put you in."  I drive around the parking lot until I find a spot, then I unbuckle my seat belt.  "Okay, we're here."

Rosie and I walk into the school office.  I see Ms. Trent as I enter. Another lady with blonde curls is sitting at a desk facing the wall, typing.

"Ms. Iparis," she says to me, smiling.  "I saw on the news that we found John.  Is that why you're here today?"

"No, I say, filling out one of the paper name tags that all visitors have to wear when they come into the school.  "I'm sure John is making his way to classes okay, although he missed a little school, so he might be slightly behind, understandably.  We picked up a new student for you when we were in the Colonies."  I tilt my head towards Rosie.  "We think she’ll be attending this school, at least.  She hasn't been in school for at least a year, so we don't know what grade she'll test into.  If she tests too far behind her same-age peers, I'll probably hire a tutor for her until she can catch up."

"I see."  Ms. Trent looks over at Rosie.  "What is your name, dear?"

"Rosie."

"Do you have a last name?"

She looks over at me like she's unsure.  I nod at her.  "Lu."

"My name is Ms. Trent.  We have a computer program we use to determine what grade level to place our students in.  Can you use a computer?"

She thinks for a moment.  "My class only had one per classroom in my old school, but I've used them before."

"Okay then, I'll get you set up with that.  My secretary, Adelaide Johnson, will help you if you have any difficulty with the computer once you start the test, since I have a meeting to go to."

"Okay."  We follow Ms. Trent into a room with a computer and a filing cabinet.  "It might take a while to take the test, but once you finish, we’ll know where to place you."  She clicks on an icon, and the screen fills with a bright, cheery program with large print text and cartoon characters on it.  "Just do your best," she says pressing a button that says "Start."

Rosie sits down at the computer and starts taking the test.  Ms. Trent and I file out of the room, leaving the door open.

"So, who is she?" Ms. Trent asks quietly.

"She helped John in the Colonies.  We got permission to take her here.  Some friends of ours will probably adopt her, but they live in the same school district."

"So you don't have all her paperwork.  Birth certificate, immunization records?"

"We don't have any of that.  It's highly unlikely she was immunized against anything except for the very basics; I can get her an appointment today for the shots, but the birth certificate might take a while.  Either way, I expect that this school can make accommodations for her."

"Without a birth certificate, we won't be able to --"

"I don't care what your rules say," I tell her sharply.  "Do it.  The ambassador to the Colonies is involved in this case.  I could get the elector involved as well, and you know it.  If you give us too much trouble, I'm sure that we could get 'Day' involved and you won't have a job by the end of the week."

I don't mean to be harsh, but I'm tired and I don't feel like dealing with heartless bureaucracy today.  My week has been stressful enough as it is.

She sighs.  "We'll find a way.  I’m headed to a meeting right now, but once she's done with the test, Ms. Johnson can discuss the results with you.  If she's too far behind grade level and you'd like to hire a tutor, she could still attend some classes with her peers, like physical education.  It's up to you, but we can accommodate for partial enrollment."

"That's good to know."

"I have to go," she says, grabbing a pile of books.  "When Rosie finishes her test, just talk to Ms. Johnson." She tilts her head in the direction of the blonde woman at the desk facing the wall.

She walks out of the room, and I sit in one of the waiting room chairs.

Ms. Johnson ignores me.  I take my tablet out and start getting caught up on messages from work while I wait.

There's an email from Ambassador Weston.  My blood boils as I read it.  Evidently, the Colonies don't want to extradite Master Sergeant Hutchins or Captain Papillion.  We may have found my son, but if justice isn't brought to these criminals, the Republic might still go to war with the Colonies.  The situation was already tense while we were there.  The Colonians still harbor resentment for what happened ten years ago.

I sigh, and fire off an email to the Elector.  I have a feeling I'll have to travel to Denver again later this week.  Hopefully this will be resolved peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaah! Only two weeks left in this month and still four more chapters left! Thanks for reading.


	24. Back to School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John's first day of school after the incident.

**John**

I wave goodbye to my mom and walk to my classroom.  It feels strange to be back in school after the last couple of weeks.  I don't know what I've been missing in class.  Hopefully it won't be too difficult to catch up.  School has always been easy for me, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

As I walk into my classroom, I can feel everybody staring at me like I’m an animal at the zoo.  I hope my embarrassment isn't showing as I take my chair.  Tanis is already in his seat next to me.  He looks at me and grins.

"I heard you went on an adventure," he whispers.

"Uh, yeah," I answer, shifting slightly in my seat.  "I'm glad to be back though."

"We've been following the news about you in class."

I don't know what to think about that.  What has the news been saying about me since I went missing?  I hope they haven’t been reporting anything embarrassing.  My friends don’t need to know how I had to steal food and sleep in abandoned buildings for a week.

Kayla Winters enters the classroom, wearing a cute pink skirt and a shirt with a rainbow on it.  She smiles at me and I smile back.  I never noticed how her brown curls bounced before, or how cute she was.  She sits down in the seat behind me.

Mr. Tuttle comes in the classroom and sets down his briefcase.  He glances at me.

"I see that John Iparis has returned safely from his adventure in the colonies," he notes.  "We were all looking forward to your return."

"Thank you," I say, almost mumbling.

"I'll give you a packet of make-up work to take home tonight," he says.  He looks at the rest of the class.  "In the meantime, turn to chapter two of your English book.  We're beginning our unit on verbs today."

Some of the students groan, but I can't help but smile.  I'd rather be at school than in the Colonies foraging for food, any day.

I flip through my textbook until I arrive at chapter two.  We learned about verbs last year.  It seems we always review the same stuff at the beginning of every school year.  Maybe it won't be so difficult making up my missing days of school after all.

 

After school, Mr. Tuttle gives me a thick packet of homework to take home.  It'll take forever to do it all, but I don't have to get it all done overnight.  Knowing my mom, she'll probably make me do it all within a week though.  Unfortunately with all this school work, I won't have time to invite Tanis over for that overdue sleepover this weekend.

I sling my backpack over my shoulder and walk down the hallway, heading outside to the curb where I catch the bus to day care.

I shouldn't be nervous, but as I approach the location of my abduction, my heart speeds up and my palms sweat.  Last time I stood here, I ended up in a van with a bag over my head.  I look around anxiously.  There's nothing to be afraid of.  The bad people that kidnapped me are in jail in the Colonies.  At least that's what all the government people say.  Who knows if they can be trusted?  Still, it's illogical to think I would be kidnapped again.

A few kids join me on the curb, and I try to tell myself that even if someone was going to kidnap me, they wouldn't do it with other people around.  Still, my shoulders tense up as I stand here waiting.

When the day care bus pulls up to the curb, I let out a sigh of relief.  I smile at the bus driver when he opens the door.

 

When my dad comes to pick me up, I’m working on my monstrous stack of homework.  I smile at him when he arrives, and rush over to him to give him a big hug.

"I missed you," I say.

He laughs.  "You saw me yesterday, remember?"

I look down.  "Yeah, but…" I'm not sure how to put it into words.  "Everything is so different now."

I return to the table where I left my homework and start stuffing the papers into my backpack.  "After you woke up from your coma and returned to normal life, did you ever worry about bad things continuing to happen?"

He looks at me thoughtfully.  "Well, my amnesia made me forget a lot of things.  Maybe that helped.  But I still had nightmares sometimes.  Sometimes my nightmares were of things I remembered.  Sometimes they were of things I had forgotten.  Does that make sense?"

I stand up and put my backpack on.  "I guess.  Do you still have nightmares?"

"Not very often, now."  He ruffles my hair.  "It'll get easier.  I promise."

He puts his arm around my shoulder and we go to the car.  Mom taught Dad how to drive about a month ago, and then he bought a new car.  It's nice not to have to take the bus everywhere when I'm with him.

When we get to our apartment building, he takes the elevator up to my floor.  He'll probably have dinner with us again tonight.  I don't see why he doesn't just move in with us.  He eats dinner at our house almost every night and hangs out with Mom until bedtime most nights.

He orders pizza.  Mom and Dad must be too tired to cook tonight.  Even though I was the one that was kidnapped, they spent a week in the Colonies trying to find me, so they've been busy too.

"I have to travel to Denver tomorrow," Mom says as she grabs a slice of pepperoni pizza.

"Again?" I complain.  "You just got back here."

"Yeah, I know," she sighs, "but the Colonies don't want to extradite the two Republican citizens that kidnapped you.  We want them sent back here so we can try them in our courts.  It might end up being a huge mess."

"Do we have to go to Denver too?" Rosie's eyes widen.

"No, silly, we'll stay with Tess and Brian," I comment.  "That’s what I always do when Mom goes on business."

"Actually, you're staying here," my mom says.  "This time, Dad is staying with you while I’m gone."

"Oh, of course." I laugh.  "I forgot that Dad can take care of us now."

"They might come to visit," Dad says.  "We can invite them, and Eden, have a huge party, and trash the place while Mom is gone."  He winks at us.

Mom just rolls her eyes.  "What are you, fifteen?"

"Nope."  He leans over and kisses my mom on the cheek.  "Although sometimes when I see you, I feel that way."

I pretend to gag.

"Rosie's all set to go to school tomorrow, at least," Mom says.  "They're putting her into third grade.  She'll be a little older than some of her classmates, but that's okay.  She could always skip a grade later."

My mom skipped a bunch of grades when she was a kid.  She's some sort of super-genius.

"So that means you'll be in the same school as me!" I exclaim.  "I can show you around and stuff."

"Sure," Rosie replies.

"We got all of her paperwork and doctor's appointments taken care of this afternoon," Mom says.  "We even went shopping for school supplies."

"It's going to be fun," I say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments make my day!


	25. Rosie's First Day of School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosie's first day of school.

**John**

Mom drove us to school again today, except this time, Rosie gets out with me.  Before she drives away, I give Mom a hug.

“I’m gonna miss you,” I whisper.

“I shouldn’t be gone long,” she replies, her arms constricting around my shoulders.  “As soon as we can get a deal worked out, I’ll come right back.”

I nod before letting go, then watch as she waves and gets back into the car.

Rosie watches our exchange.  I turn to her and put my arm around her shoulders before I walk her towards the building.

"Mom says you're gonna be in Miss Madison's class," I tell her as we walk up the sidewalk leading to the entrance.  "You'll have the same teacher all day, so you shouldn't get lost or anything.  We can meet right here by the flagpole at the front of the building after school and I'll show you how to get to the day care bus."

"Find a new girlfriend?"

I look up and see George Andrews, Rex Johnson's best friend.  George follows Rex around like he’s a wart growing on his butt.  I make a face at him.  Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Rosie blushing.

"No, this is Rosie.  She's my friend.  She's staying at my house for a while."  I remove my arm from around Rosie's shoulders.  I only meant to be friendly by putting my arm around her, but I don't want other people to think we’re together or anything.

"Why?  What's wrong with her own house?"  He looks at me with suspicion.

"It's none of your business."  I shoot a glare at him before I walk away, then look towards Rosie.  "Let's go find your class."

George watches us as we walk away.  Anger simmers in my blood as if it’s syrup left on the stove.  I don't care if people know that Rosie's my friend, but I don’t want George to tell Rex some outrageous story about us.  Rex would tease me mercilessly about it for the rest of the school year.  I shouldn't let his insults bother me, but I hate when kids make fun of me.  Rex is one of the cruelest kids in the classroom in that regard.

Miss Madison's class is in room 222, which is in a different hallway than my class.  Mom dropped us off early so I could show Rosie her classroom.

When we arrive, kids have already started filing into the classroom.  Her teacher looks at us and smiles.

"Hello John," she greets me.  I've never had her as a teacher, but I saw her sometimes when I was in third grade and my class was across the hallway from her.  Besides, I’m sure everybody in the school knows who I am now.  After being kidnapped and having my picture splashed across the Jumbotrons for nearly a week, it’d be hard not to know who I am.  She looks at Rosie.  "You must be Rosie."

She nods shyly.  "How did you know who I was?"

"I got a message from the school yesterday afternoon letting me know that you’d be joining us," she says, smiling.  Her blue eyes sparkle.  "There's an empty seat in the second row," she says, pointing to her right.

Rosie looks around with uncertainty.  I nod at her, hoping that she'll get the message that everything will be okay.

I smile at my friend and wave.  "See you later!" I say, leaving for my classroom.

 

I arrive at Mr. Tuttle's class right before the bell rings.  Tanis smiles at me as I sit in my seat next to him.

"Today we're learning about helping verbs," he says.  "Can anybody tell me what those are?"

I know the answer, but I don't want people to think I’m a nerd, so I just look at the teacher, trying to make my face look blank and clueless.

A few moments of silence pass.  "Kayla."  She must have raised her hand.  "Could you tell me what helping verbs are?"

I turn around and look at her.  For a moment, her eyes meet mine and she smiles back.

"Helping verbs are words like was, were, are, that sort of thing," she says.  "They modify the action verb."

"Correct."  He looks at me.  "John, can you give me an example of an action verb?"

I want to slink down in my seat.  "Run," I answer.

"Yes.  Action verbs are things we do."

"Maybe if John knew how to run, he wouldn't have gotten kidnapped," Rex mutters behind me.  His friend George giggles in response.

I turn around.  "And if you ever get kidnapped, you'd probably never manage to escape."  I smirk at him, then turn back towards the teacher.  "Escape is an action verb too."

"Boys," Mr. Tuttle says, "we don't have to treat each other like this."

I roll my eyes.  Rex has been nasty to me since last year.  I doubt he even knows how to be nice.

The teacher returns to his desk, and Rex makes a face.  I glare at him in return.  I want to make a comment, but if I do, it will only make things worse.

 

Tanis and I sit lunch together at lunch, like we always do.  The food looks delicious today.  We're having a square pizza, green beans, an apple, and milk.  I always liked it when we had pizza, even though it’s nothing like the pizza my parents order when I'm at home.

I look up and I see Rosie.  She looks lost, as if she lost the instruction book on how to do life.

"Excuse me," I tell Tanis, getting up.  "I need to go help my friend."

Rosie smiles as I approach her.  "I don't know what to do," she says, looking embarrassed.

I point to the line.  "Just stand here and grab a tray.  When you get to the front of the line, put the tray on the counter and the lunch ladies put food on it.  Then you pay for your food."

"Pay?"

"Did Mom give you any money this morning?"

She shakes her head.

I reach into my pocket and hand her some notes.  "Mom probably already put some money into your lunch account, but in case she didn't, this should cover it."

She takes the money out of my hand and looks at it strangely.

I roll my eyes.  “Those are Republican Notes.  They let you buy things here.”  She scrunches up her eyebrows.  I sigh.  “They have money in the Colonies, so don't act like you're stupid and don't know what it is.”

Rosie shakes her head.  "It's not that.  I don't know if I've ever had money I didn't steal.  It's a little strange."

"Well, get used to it.  And get in line."  I point to the column of students waiting for lunch.

I return to my seat next to Tanis.

"Who was that?"  He spears a few green beans with his fork.

"That's Rosie.  She's from the Colonies.  She lives with us right now.  After I escaped my kidnappers, she helped me.  I think Tess and Brian are gonna adopt her."

"She's cute."

I scrunch up my nose.  "She thinks _I'm_ cute, but obviously, that's not gonna happen.  Not if she's living with us."  I flash a smile at him.  "Maybe if she likes you, she'll stop being interested in me."

"Sounds like a plan."

I spot Kayla across the lunch room.  She's talking to some of her friends.  Maybe if Kayla liked me, Rosie would get the hint and move on to someone else.  I don't want to talk to her while she's hanging out with all her friends though.

When Rosie gets out of the lunch line, I wave to her.  She carries her tray to our table and sits down.

Rosie holds out the money I gave her earlier.  "I didn't need those.  Your mom already paid for my lunch."

I wave my hand.  "Keep it.  I'll get more money later."  I look over at Tanis.  "Have you met my best friend Tanis yet?"

She looks over at my friend.  "No, I haven't.  I'm Rosie."

Tanis grins at her.  "Nice to meet you.  How do you like the Republic so far?"

"It's… different."  She looks perplexed as she studies the items on her plate.

"I know you've had pizza before.  We ate some the other day.  The kind they give you at school is square.  It doesn’t taste as good as what we had at home the other day, but it's still good."

"Do you eat pizza at school every day?"

"Don't be silly.  They put out a menu once a month.  We have something different every day."

Tanis looks at Rosie.  "What's it like living in the Colonies?"

She shrugs.  "I don't know.  It's just… the Colonies.  Until a few days ago, I’d never been anywhere else."  She looks at her carton of milk with confusion.

I show her how to open it.

"I lived on the streets for the last couple of years," Rosie continues.  "So I guess that says something about the Colonies."

Tanis nods.  "We have kids that live on the streets here too.  Some, at least."

"My Dad did," I say.

Rosie rolls her eyes.  "Yeah, but your dad is some big shot now."

I laugh.  "So maybe you're some future big shot.  I don't think you'll be sleeping in an abandoned building tonight."

"No, but that's because your dad is helping me."

"And you helped me.  And people helped my dad.  People don’t become successful all by themselves."

 

After school, I find Rosie near the flagpole and lead her to the curb where we wait for the day care bus.  They're expecting her when we get on the bus.  We're in the same room at the day care, and I introduce her to my friends.

Dad picks us up after he gets off work.  He smiles at me as he enters the room.  I shove all the homework I've been working on into my backpack.

"How was your day?"  Dad puts his arms around me when I rush up to him in greeting.

"Fine," I say.  "Can Tanis come over this weekend?"

He raises his eyebrows at me.  "Are you going to have your homework done?"

I look down at my shoes.  "Probably not.  There's a lot to do."

"Maybe next weekend, okay?  This weekend, focus on finishing your homework, yeah?"

"Okay."

Rosie had gathered her stuff in her backpack as well, although she didn't have as much homework as I did.  Third graders have a lot less to do than fifth graders.

"How was your first day of school?" Dad looks at Rosie.

"It was good," she says.  "I met some kids.  Everything is strange here."

"You'll get used to it."  He smiles at her.  "You have a new school and a new country to get used to.  Don't worry if you don't understand everything at first."

"John helped me figure out how to get lunch."

He ruffles my hair.  "I'm glad you're being helpful."

We walk out the door towards his car.  "I figure maybe we could watch a movie tonight," Dad says, opening the driver's side door.  "As long as you get your homework done first."

"Sounds great!" I reply.  I already finished most of today’s homework while I was at day care.  The rest I can finish while Dad's making dinner.  I still have a pile of unfinished homework from the week I missed school, but I don't think Dad was talking about that.

When we get home, I take my homework out of my backpack and work on finishing it while Dad makes stir-fry vegetables and chicken.  The food smells amazing, and it makes my stomach growl.

"Were you always a good cook, Dad?"  It's hard to concentrate on history while the smell of dinner is so distracting.

He laughs.  "I didn't do much cooking until I moved to Antarctica.  It's kind of difficult to cook anything when you live on the streets.  Maybe I cooked after I met June, but she says we had a caretaker, so I doubt I did much cooking then either.  I had to learn how to cook in Antarctica, because your uncle could barely see back then."

I try to focus on my history textbook.  There are so many dates to learn.  Tonight I'm supposed to read about the Great Move Forward of 2088, and the bravery of General August Fedelma.  Although our school is named after him, his story is incredibly boring.  Fortunately, I’m able to answer the questions right as Dad finishes cooking dinner.

After dinner, we watch a movie about a girl who could make people hallucinate.  It was interesting.  By the end of the movie, I'm ready to fall asleep, and so is Rosie.

"John, why don't we both sleep in your mom's bed, and Rosie can sleep in your room?  That way we all have beds tonight?"

I agree.  Mom's bed is big enough for two people.  My eyes close almost as soon as my head hits the pillow.  I wonder when she'll get back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 14 days until Rebel!!! And only two more chapters left in this story. I hope you like this one. Thanks for reading!


	26. An End and a Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> June gets a note that will change Rosie's life.

**June**

I drum my fingers on the table.  These meetings are pointless.  That’s the reason I decided, years ago, that I didn't want to be the Princeps.  Because I can't stand attending meetings like this.

This is the fifth meeting I've been to this week.

Anden rushes into the meeting room, his hair mussed, like he's been chased by Colonian assassins.  A few years ago, I might have found it endearing.  Right now, I just find it annoying.  All I want to do is return to Los Angeles to be back with Day and John.

He looks up and meets the eyes of everybody at the table.  "I have some good news," he announces.  "The Colonian government decided they’d like to avoid another war and agreed to extradite Master Sergeant Hutchins and Captain Papillion."

Everybody in the room lets out a sigh of relief.  This is the outcome we hoped for.

It would have been stupid to go to war over these criminals.  The Colonies knew it.  Anden did too.  The only problem is, once somebody in power gets it into their head that they want to do something, they'll do it, regardless of the consequences.  Backing down is a blow to their pride.  They don't care if their stubbornness causes people to die.

This time, the Colonies backed down.  At what cost though?  Will they remember this next time our two countries disagree?  Will they back down next time?  Would we be willing to concede?  I don't like this game our governments are playing.

Our countries fought a war for over a generation.  I hope to never see war again in my lifetime.

A messenger discretely places an envelope at my side.  It's addressed to me.  The envelope is made out of that thick, textured paper that serves no purpose other than to be wasteful and ostentatious.  I wonder how many kids could be fed if they'd just use cheaper paper.

I open it to see what it says:

 

Roseanne Jennifer Lu

Date of Birth: February 27, 2134

Father: Gregory Michael Lu

Status: Deceased.  Cause of death: Drug overdose.

Mother: Cynthia Jo Lu

Status: Deceased.  Cause of death: Blunt force trauma to the head.

No other known relatives.

It is the conclusion of the Colonian government that Roseanne Jennifer Lu is eligible for adoption.

 

I don't think Rosie will be too sad to find out her abusive dad has died, but I’m not sure.  I'll wait until I get back home to give her the news.  This isn’t the kind of information you tell somebody over the phone.

Although I haven't been paying much attention, around me, the military big-shots are detailing their plans about how they will de-escalate the current conflict with the Colonies.

"I'll inform the Colonians that we're taking our missiles out of ready status," General Rodriguez announces.  "Should something happen, of course, we're always ready to go to war, but I'll make sure we don't give any appearance of hostility."

"I'll make sure that the troops in California know we're in a state of peace as well," I add.

The rest of the officials around the table finish giving out their plans to promote peace with the Colonies, but my mind has already drifted elsewhere.

 

I drop my suitcases near the doorway as soon as I get home.  John rushes to give me a hug.

"Mom!" he shouts.  He almost knocks me over in his enthusiasm to embrace me.  "I missed you!"

"I missed you too."  Before I release him, I give him a quick kiss on the forehead.

Daniel comes out of the kitchen.  He’s wearing an apron around his waist, which makes me want to laugh.  His eyes light up when he sees me.  He strides up to me and hugs me tightly.  I close my eyes and breathe deeply.  He smells like Italian food.

"I’m so glad you're here," he says.

I let go of him and smirk.  "What, you couldn't handle taking care of two kids?"

He rolls his eyes.  "No, we were actually doing quite fine, thank you.  I just missed you."

I look over at Rosie, who looks a little lost, and give her a smile.  "We need to sit down.  I have some news for you."

Her mouth forms a grim line, and she looks like she’s about to cry.  She looks like she’s expecting the worst, like the Colonies might grab her and force her to live with her dad in the Colonies.

"It'll be okay, I promise."  I sit on the couch next to her.  "I received a letter while I was away."

She nods.  Her brown eyes look large.

"Your father… died.  Last year.  Of a drug overdose."

She nods.  It's hard to tell how she feels.  Relief?  Sadness?  I don't know how I'd feel if I was in her shoes right now.  I lost my parents when I was too young to remember, although they weren't abusive.

"So what does that mean?"  Her voice is quiet.

"The Colonian government says you're eligible for adoption."  I smile weakly at her.  "I'm going to recommend that Tess and Brian adopt you, if that's okay."

Her eyes light up.  "Does that mean I'm going to get a real family?" she asks.

"Yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one chapter left! Even though it's short, I don't have time to edit it tonight, so it'll have to wait. Thanks for reading!


	27. Dad's First Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas Eve. The story concludes.

**John**

"I won!" I exclaim, jumping up and throwing off my goggles.  "That's two times in a row!  Ha!  Just tell me I'm the Multiworlds Champion!"

"No fair!" Tanis protests, taking off his goggles.  "You've had more practice than me!"

"Not really.  We just got these from Antarctica a week ago."

Life has returned to normal in the past couple of months.  At least, what now passes for normal.  So many things have changed since this summer when I met my Dad.  The Colonies almost went to war with the Republic and now they’re at peace.  My captors’ trials start at the first of the year.  I have new friends.

"They're not exactly like the ones they use in Antarctica."  Dad walks into the living room with a heaping bowl of popcorn and places it on the coffee table in front of us.  "In Antarctica, nobody wears goggles, because we get brain implants.  They're also hooked up to the worldwide Multiworlds network."

Evidently the Elector doesn't trust the rest of the world to not implant a virus or something into the network, so we're stuck with an outdated version of Multiworlds that doesn't connect to any other countries.  Still, he's now allowing our country to at least _have_ a Multiworlds network.  That's at least some technological progress.  Sometimes it feels like the Republic is still stuck in the twenty-first century.

I grab a handful of popcorn out of the bowl.  Mom and Dad said Tanis could come over tonight for Christmas Eve.  Neither of our families are doing anything until tomorrow, so we decided to hang out tonight.

“What was Christmas like when you were a kid?” I ask.

Dad shrugs.  "December 25th was just another day.  People didn't start celebrating Christmas here until after I moved to Antarctica.  I guess when people here found out that the Colonies celebrate it, they thought it sounded fun and wanted to celebrate it too."

"They have Christmas in China."  Tanis unzipped his sleeping bag.  "Remember the missionaries from there that came to our school last year?"

"I forgot about them."  Evidently, Christmas has something to do with this guy named Jesus who lived thousands of years ago.  At least that’s what the Chinese missionaries said.  They sang some songs to us in English, but they had a bunch of big old-timey words in them that I didn't understand.

I'm excited for the present I bought for Dad.  It's a pair of climbing gloves.  He told me that he used to do a lot of climbing, but he hasn't done much since coming back to Los Angeles.  It's underneath our tree in a small green package.

"Are you getting anything special for Mom?"

"Wouldn't you want to know?"  He grins at me.  His eyes sparkle with a secret mischief.  "We both know you're terrible at keeping secrets.  I definitely don't want this secret getting out."

"Just one hint?"  I flash my cutest smile at him in hopes of getting him to give in.

He shakes his head.  "Did you guys want to watch a movie before you go to bed?"  Dad grabs the television remote.  "I don't want you to watch anything that’s loud though."

I roll my eyes.  "Then why'd you put the surround sound system in?"  Dad installed it shortly after he moved in with us a month ago.

"Not for when everybody else is trying to sleep."

"Have you seen _Alien Attack from Jupiter_ yet?" Tanis asks.

I shake my head.  "I wanted to watch that one."

" _Alien Attack_ it is."  Dad presses a few buttons on the remote and the movie starts.  "Good night you two.  Don't stay up too late."  He gets up and heads to his bedroom that he now shares with Mom.  She went to bed about a half hour ago, but she might be reading.

"So is Rosie coming over tomorrow?" Tanis asks after my dad leaves the room.  Rosie lives with Tess and Brian now since they're adopting her.  I don't think the adoption is official yet.  Rosie told me they're going to throw her a party when that happens.

"Yeah."  I snuggle into my sleeping bag.  "Tess, Brian, Rosie, and Eden are all coming over tomorrow.  You saw her yesterday.  At school."

They seem to like each other a lot.  "Yeah, but I won't see her on Christmas break."

"You can call her."  I smile.  "I'll be calling Kayla."  Kayla sometimes sits with us at lunchtime now, especially since Rosie usually sits with us.  I think she likes me, but I’m not completely sure.

"Yeah, but you have no problems calling girls."

"True."

I pull my sleeping bag up to my neck and watch the movie.  This year's been crazy.  I wonder what will happen next year.  It’s unlikely I’ll get kidnapped again, at least.

My eyelids are drooping and I'm barely paying attention to the movie when I notice Dad come out of his room and put a package under the tree.  It’s probably his present to Mom, since I already saw the gift he’s giving me.  It's tiny.  I yawn.  As I drift off to sleep, I wonder what Mom might want that comes in a package that small?

I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I hope you liked it. I'm working on a few more projects at the moment, but I'm not finished with any of their first drafts (at least the ones I'll post here) so it might be a while before I post something else.


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